Inclusion Criteria:
- Histologic documentation of invasive breast cancer by core needle or incisional
biopsy
- The invasive cancer must be hormone receptor poor, defined as both estrogen receptor
and progesterone receptor staining present in fewer than 10% of invasive cancer cells
by IHC.
- The invasive cancer must be Her-2 negative, defined as IHC 0-1+ or with a FISH ratio
of < 1.8 if IHC is 2+.
- Clinical Stage II-III invasive breast cancer with the intent to perform surgical
resection after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Patients with multicentric or bilateral
disease are eligible if the target lesions meet the other eligibility criteria.
- The subject must agree to undergo the pre-treatment research biopsy.
- No prior chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, or radiotherapy with therapeutic intent is
allowed.
- No baseline neuropathy > Grade 2.
- Women or men > age 18.
- Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status 0-1.
- Pregnant or nursing women are not eligible. All women of reproductive potential must
have a negative pregnancy test at baseline and agree to use an effective, nonhormonal
method of contraception during the period of treatment on this trial.
- The pre-treatment echocardiogram or multiple gated acquisition scan (MUGA) must have
an left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) above 50%.
- Required pre-treatment laboratory values include:
- Granulocytes > 1,000/mcL (microliters)
- Platelets > 100,000/mcL
- Total bilirubin < 1.5 x upper limit of normal
- Calculated creatinine clearance > 30 mL/minute
- Serum AST (Aspartate Aminotransferase) < 2.5 x upper limit of normal