Gefitinib in Treating Patients With Metastatic or Unresectable Head and Neck Cancer or Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients must have histologically or cytologically confirmed head and neck carcinoma or non-small cell lung cancer which is metastatic or unresectable for which standard curative or palliative measures do not exist or are no longer effective or are likely to be as effective as ZD1839; patients with known brain metastases are only eligible if their brain metastases have been treated and if in the opinion of the treating physician they are stable * Patients must be 75 years or older, or 50 years of age or younger * Serum creatinine =\< the institutional upper limit of normal * Bilirubin =\< the institutional upper limit of normal * SGOT or SGPT =\< 2.5 x the institutional upper limit of normal; SGOT and SGPT could be =\< 5 x the upper limit of normal if the patient has liver metastases as long as the bilirubin is normal * AGC of \>= 1,500/ul * Platelet count of \>= 100,000/ul * Patients requiring agents that induce CYP3A4 are excluded from the study, at the present time, agents known to induce CYP3A4 include the antibiotics nafcillin and rifampin, the anticonvulsants carbamazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin, oxcarbazepine, fosphenytoin and primidone as well as St. John's Wort, rifabutin, rifapentine and modafinil * Patients may or may not have received prior chemotherapy; patients must not have a curative option and in the opinion of the treating physician there is no other treatment option likely to provide greater benefit; patients must not have received…