Paclitaxel and Carboplatin With or Without Nitroglycerin in Treating Patients With Previously Untreated Stage III or Stage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as paclitaxel and carboplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Nitroglycerin may help carboplatin and paclitaxel work better by making tumor cells more sensitive to the drugs. PURPOSE: This phase II randomized trial is studying how well giving nitroglycerin together with paclitaxel and carboplatin works and compares it to giving paclitaxel and carboplatin alone in treating patients with previously untreated stage III or stage IV non-small cell lung cancer.