Neoadjuvant Platinum-based Chemotherapy for Patients With Resectable , Non-small Cell Lung Cancer With Switch to Chemotherapy Alternative in Nonresponders (NEOSCAN)

Inclusion Criteria: * Pathologic confirmation of NSCLC at MSKCC * Stages IB, IIA, IIB, IIIA or IIIB NSCLC * Primary tumor must measure ≥ 2 cm on CT imaging (per PERCIST guidelines) * Primary tumor must be FDG-avid with an SUVmax \>4.5 (to be consistent with PERCIST guidelines) * Patients must be candidates for resection with curative intent * Age ≥ 18 years * Karnofsky performance status ≥ 70% * Normal bone marrow function * leukocytes ≥ 3,000/μl * absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/μl * platelets ≥100,000/μl * hemoglobin ≥9gm/dl. * Adequate hepatic function * Total bilirubin ≤1.5 x ULN * AST ≤ 1.5 x UNL, ALT ≤ 1.5 x ULN * Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 1.5x ULN * Women of childbearing age must have a negative pregnancy test * Men and women of childbearing potential must be willing to use effective contraception while on treatment and for at least 3 months thereafter * Patients must have the ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document Exclusion Criteria: * Patients must not be receiving any other investigational agents * History of myocardial infarction or unstable angina within the past 12 months Patients with peripheral neuropathy \> grade 1 * Other serious illness or medical condition including unstable cardiac disease requiring treatment, history of significant neurologic or psychiatric disorders (including psychotic disorders, dementia, or seizures), or active uncontrolled infection. * Patients with diabetes mellitus requiring insulin therapy (per PERCIST guidelines) * Patients with third space fluid which cannot be adequately controlled with drainage * Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding * Psychiatric illness or social situation that would limit compliance with study requirements * Patients with known HIV infection requiring antiretroviral medications and those with AIDS * Baseline subjective hearing deficit, even if it does not require a hearing aid or intervention, or interfere with activities of daily living (CTCAE grade 2 or higher) * Baseline renal function \<60 ml/min as calculated by the equation of Cockcroft and Gault using the patient's age, weight (kg), and serum creatinine (mg/dl). * Congestive heart failure with New York Heart Association functional classification \> II, characterized by fatigue, dyspnea or other symptoms which limit activities of daily life. Selection of Pemetrexed versus Gemcitabine: Patients treated with pemetrexed must meet all of the following criteria: * Non-squamous histology * Patients must have the ability to interrupt non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) 2 days before (5 days for long-acting NSAIDs), the day of, and 2 days following administration of pemetrexed * Patients must have the ability to take folic acid, Vitamin B12, and dexamethasone according to protocol * Patient refuses to take cisplatin