EF5 in Measuring Tumor Hypoxia in Patients With Stage I-III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Inclusion Criteria: * Known or suspected non-small cell lung cancer; patients without histologically or cytologically documented non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) must be estimated by their physician to have at least 75% probability of having NSCLC; the probability of malignancy will be predicted on the basis of known probabilities of individual clinical characteristics using a Bayesian model * Clinical or pathologic stage I to III; patients in whom pre-surgical staging has not definitively establish stage IV disease are eligible * Tumor mass at least 1.5 cm in maximum diameter must be present on computed tomography (CT) scan and must be included in the planned surgical biopsy or resection * Patient must be planning to undergo a surgical staging or treatment procedure (including mediastinoscopy, wedge resection, lobectomy, or pneumonectomy) and have the clinical and physiological status appropriate for this procedure * Performance status 0-2 * Bilirubin within normal limits * Creatinine within normal limits or, if elevated, a creatinine clearance of at least 60 mL/min/m\^2 (EF5 is primarily excreted via the kidney) * White blood cell (WBC) \> 2000/mm\^3 * Platelets \> 100,000/mm\^3 Exclusion Criteria: * Pregnancy or breast feeding; a negative serum pregnancy test is required of any woman of childbearing potential prior to enrollment; pregnant women are excluded from this study; breastfeeding should be discontinued if the mother is treated with EF5 * Allergy to IV contrast dye * History of grade III or IV peripheral neuropathy as defined by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria (CTC)