DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically proven non-small cell lung cancer with at least 1 lesion accessible for endobronchial or percutaneous injection
• Measurable or evaluable disease
• Must have a requirement for palliative radiotherapy to the thorax
• Clinically stable enough to undergo 3 adenovirus injections

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

• 18 and over

Performance status:

• ECOG 0 or 1

Life expectancy:

• At least 12 weeks

Hematopoietic:

• Platelet count greater than 100,000/mm^3

Hepatic:

• PT and PTT normal

Renal:

• Not specified

Cardiovascular:

• No New York Heart Association class III or IV heart disease

Other:

• No active systemic viral, bacterial, or fungal infection requiring treatment
• No concurrent illness requiring hospitalization or IV medications or psychologic, familial, sociologic, geographic, or other concurrent condition that would preclude adequate follow up and compliance
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• HIV negative

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

• No prior adenoviral gene therapy
• Any number of any type of other prior biologic therapy allowed

Chemotherapy:

• Any number of any type of prior chemotherapy allowed
• At least 2 weeks since prior systemic cancer therapy and no worse than grade 2 toxicity in any organ

Endocrine therapy:

• Any number of any type of prior endocrine therapy allowed

Radiotherapy:

• See Disease Characteristics
• No prior radiotherapy greater than 50 Gy if prior and concurrent radiation fields include the spinal cord
• No prior radiotherapy in fraction sizes greater than 2 Gy with the spinal cord in the concurrent radiation field

Surgery:

• At least 4 weeks since surgical resection of lung tissue
• At least 2 weeks since any other prior surgery requiring general anesthesia and recovered