Liposomal Doxorubicin and Trastuzumab in Treating Women With Advanced Breast Cancer

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing. Monoclonal antibodies such as trastuzumab can locate tumor cells and either kill them or deliver tumor-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Combining chemotherapy with monoclonal antibody therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase I/II trial to study the effectiveness of liposomal doxorubicin and trastuzumab in treating women who have advanced breast cancer.

OBJECTIVES: * Determine the toxicity, including cardiac toxicity, of doxorubicin HCl liposome and trastuzumab (Herceptin) in women with advanced HER-2/neu-overexpressing breast cancer. * Determine the efficacy of this regimen in these patients. OUTLINE: Patients receive doxorubicin HCl liposome IV over 1 hour on day 1, followed by trastuzumab (Herceptin) IV over 30-90 minutes on days 1, 8, and 15. Courses repeat every 21 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients are followed every 3 months. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 40 patients will be accrued for this study.