Liposomal Doxorubicin and Gemcitabine in Treating Women With Metastatic Breast Cancer

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically or cytologically confirmed metastatic breast cancer
• Measurable disease
• Hormone receptor status:
• * Not specified
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Age:
• 18 and over
• Sex:
• Female
• Menopausal status:
• Not specified
• Performance status:
• Karnofsky 60-100%
• Life expectancy:
• At least 3 months
• Hematopoietic:
• Platelet count at least 100,000/mm\^3
• Hemoglobin at least 9 g/dL
• Absolute neutrophil count at least 1,500/mm\^3
• No impaired bone marrow function
• Hepatic:
• Bilirubin no greater than 2 mg/dL
• AST and ALT no greater than 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Alkaline phosphatase no greater than 2 times ULN (unless attributed to tumor)
• No impaired hepatic function
• Renal:
• Creatinine no greater than 2.5 mg/dL OR
• Creatinine clearance at least 60 mL/min
• No impaired renal function
• Cardiovascular:
• No prior cardiac disease within the past 5 years OR
• LVEF at least 50%
• Other:
• No prior uncontrolled seizures
• No uncontrolled systemic infection
• No anthracycline resistance
• No other malignancy within the past 5 years except curatively treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Biologic therapy:
• No prior trastuzumab (Herceptin)
• Chemotherapy:
• Prior adjuvant therapy with anthracycline of no more than 320 mg/m\^2 allowed
• Endocrine therapy:
• Not specified
• Radiotherapy:
• No prior radiotherapy to more than 1/3 of hematopoietic sites
• Surgery:
• Not specified
• Other:
• At least 30 days since prior investigational medications and recovered
• No more than 1 prior treatment regimen for metastatic disease