Sunitinib Malate as Maintenance Therapy in Treating Patients With Stage III or Stage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Previously Treated With Combination Chemotherapy

Inclusion Criteria: * Histologic or cytologic documentation of primary non-small cell lung cancer * Stage IIIB or IV disease patients who are not candidates for combined modality therapy (chemoradiotherapy) * No evidence of symptomatic or untreated brain metastases, spinal cord compression, or carcinomatous meningitis; patients with central nervous system (CNS) metastases must be asymptomatic, must have received definitive therapy (\>= 6 weeks since resection or \>= 2 weeks since radiotherapy) for brain metastases, and be off steroids or on a stable dose for 2 weeks prior to registration * No cavitary lesions * Patients must have received one chemotherapy regimen for stage IIIB or IV NSCLC; the regimen must include four cycles of platinum-based doublet chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab (bevacizumab may not be given beyond the fourth cycle of chemotherapy); patients must have achieved a complete response, partial response, or stable disease to first-line chemotherapy and have no evidence of disease progression; patients will be registered 3-5 weeks following day 1 of cycle 4 of prior therapy * No prior adjuvant chemotherapy for stage I-III resected NSCLC or combined modality therapy for stage III NSCLC * No other primary therapy (including experimental therapy) for NSCLC; palliative radiation therapy must have been completed at least one week before planned start of protocol therapy * Patients must have measurable or non-measurable disease * Measurable disease: lesi…