Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide Plus Paclitaxel With or Without Trastuzumab in Treating Women With Node-Positive Breast Cancer That Overexpresses HER2

The patient must have a life expectancy of at least 10 years, excluding her diagnosis of breast cancer. (Comorbid conditions should be taken into consideration, but not the diagnosis of breast cancer.)

The interval between the last surgery for breast cancer treatment (lumpectomy, mastectomy, axillary dissection, or re-excision of lumpectomy margins) and randomization must be less than or equal to 84 days.

All of the following staging criteria must be met:

* Primary tumor must be T1-3 by clinical and pathologic evaluation.

* Ipsilateral nodes must be cN0-1 by clinical evaluation.

* Ipsilateral nodes must be pN1, pN2a, or pN3a by pathologic evaluation.

* M0

Patients must have undergone either a total mastectomy and an axillary dissection or a lumpectomy and an axillary dissection. Sentinel node biopsy is permitted, but must be followed by an axillary dissection.

The tumor must be invasive adenocarcinoma on histologic examination.

The tumor must be determined to be HER2-positive prior to randomization. Assays performed using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) require gene amplification to be eligible. Assays using immunohistochemistry (IHC) must be performed at an NSABP-approved reference laboratory and require a strongly positive staining score.

Patients must have an analysis of both estrogen and progesterone receptors performed on the primary tumor prior to randomization. "Marginal," "borderline," etc., results (i.e., those not definitely negative) will also be considered positive regardless of the methodology used.

At the time of randomization, the patient must have had the following: history and physical exam, EKG, and PA and lateral chest x-ray within the past 3 months; and a bilateral mammogram (or unilateral if patient has had a mastectomy) and a pelvic exam (for women who have a uterus and who will be taking tamoxifen) within the past year.

Within 3 months prior to entry, the patient must have a baseline left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) measured by MUGA scan equal to or greater than the lower limit of normal for the radiology facility. (If LVEF is \> 75%, the investigator should consider having the LVEF determination reviewed prior to randomization. Following randomization, the LVEF determination may be reviewed up until the time of the post-AC MUGA. Please note that if a more accurate value is obtained from the review of the baseline MUGA, the corrected value must be submitted to the NSABP Biostatistical Center before the post-AC MUGA is performed.)

At the time of randomization:

* The postoperative absolute neutrophil count (ANC) must be ≥ 1500/mm3 (or \<1500/mm3 if, in the opinion of the investigator, this represents an ethnic or racial variation of normal).

* Postoperative platelet count must be ≥ 100,000/mm3. Significant underlying hematologic disorders must be excluded when the platelet count is above the upper limit of normal for the lab.

There must be postoperative evidence of adequate hepatic function, i.e., total bilirubin must be ≤ ULN for the lab unless the patient has a chronic grade 1 bilirubin elevation (\>ULN to ≤1.5 x ULN) due to Gilbert's disease or similar syndrome; and alkaline phosphatase must be \<2.5 times the ULN for the lab; and the serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT \[AST\]) must be \<1.5 times the ULN for the lab.

There must be postoperative evidence of adequate renal function (serum creatinine within or less than the institution's normal range).

Patients must have no clinical or radiologic evidence of metastatic disease. Suspicious findings must be confirmed as benign by radiologic evaluation or biopsy. A patient with skeletal pain is eligible for inclusion in the study if bone scan and/or roentgenological examination fails to disclose metastatic disease.

Prior to randomization, the investigator must designate whether the patients who had a lumpectomy will receive local or locoregional radiation therapy. For patients who had a mastectomy, the investigator must designate whether or not the patient will receive radiation therapy. (Pre-randomization discussion and/or consultation with a radiation oncologist is encouraged.) Note: Irradiation of any internal mammary nodes is prohibited in this trial.

Special conditions for eligibility of lumpectomy patients: irradiation and surgery

Patients treated by lumpectomy and axillary node dissection to be followed by breast radiation therapy must meet all the eligibility criteria in addition to the following: Generally, lumpectomy should be reserved for tumors \<5 cm. However, at the investigator's discretion, patients treated with lumpectomy for tumors ≥ 5 cm are eligible. The margins of the resected specimen must be histologically free of invasive tumor and DCIS as determined by the local pathologist. In patients in whom pathologic examination demonstrates tumor present at the line of resection, additional operative procedures may be performed to obtain clear margins. This is permissible even if axillary dissection has been performed. Patients in whom tumor is still present at the resected margin after re-excision(s) must undergo total mastectomy to be eligible. Whole breast irradiation is required. Irradiation of regional lymph nodes is optional, but partial breast irradiation and irradiation of any internal mammary nodes are prohibited in this trial. Intent to irradiate the axilla or other regional node groups must be declared by the investigator prior to randomization for stratification purposes.

Special conditions for eligibility of mastectomy patients: irradiation. The decision to use locoregional irradiation in patients who have undergone total mastectomy and axillary node dissection must be declared by the investigator prior to randomization for stratification purposes. Failure to adhere to the radiation therapy plan will be a protocol violation.

What this study is about