Arsenic Trioxide in Treating Women With Locally Advanced or Metastatic Breast Cancer

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically confirmed breast cancer, meeting 1 of the following criteria:
• * Locally advanced disease
• * Cannot be adequately treated by radiotherapy or surgery
• * Metastatic disease
• Ineligible for OR received prior anthracycline- and/or taxane-based chemotherapy with subsequent disease progression
• No uncontrolled Central Nervous System (CNS) metastases
• Ineligible for treatment protocols of higher priority
• Hormone receptor status:
• * Not specified
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Age
• 18 and over
• Sex
• Female
• Menopausal status
• Not specified
• Performance status
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) 0-1 OR
• Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) 0-1 OR
• Zubrod 0-1
• Life expectancy
• At least 12 weeks
• Hematopoietic
• Absolute neutrophil count greater than 1,500/mm\^3
• Platelet count greater than 100,000/mm\^3
• Hepatic
• Bilirubin no greater than 1.5 times normal
• Serum Glutamic Oxalacetic Transaminase (SGOT)/Serum Glutamic Pyruvic Transaminase (SGPT) no greater than 3 times normal
• Renal
• Creatinine no greater than 2.0 mg/dL
• Calcium no greater than 12 mg/dL
• Cardiovascular
• Cardiac ejection fraction greater than 50%
• No myocardial infarction or ischemia within the past 6 months
• No uncontrolled clinically significant dysrhythmia
• Other
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• Electrolytes normal
• Magnesium normal
• No other malignancy within the past 5 years except nonmelanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix
• No prior or ongoing grade 2-4 peripheral neuropathy
• No comorbid condition that would render the patient at high risk from study treatment complications
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Biologic therapy
• No concurrent cytokine therapy
• Chemotherapy
• See Disease Characteristics
• No more than 3 prior chemotherapy regimens for breast cancer
• No other concurrent chemotherapy
• Endocrine therapy
• Not specified
• Radiotherapy
• More than 2 weeks since prior radiotherapy
• No prior radiotherapy to an indicator lesion unless there is objective evidence of tumor growth in that lesion
• No concurrent radiotherapy except for the following:
• * Palliative or emergent radiotherapy
• * Local consolidative radiotherapy
• Surgery
• More than 2 weeks since prior surgery
• Concurrent local consolidative surgery allowed
• Other
• At least 4 weeks since prior antineoplastic agents for nonmalignant conditions (e.g., methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis)
• No concurrent antineoplastic agents for nonmalignant conditions
• No concurrent participation in another treatment protocol
• Concurrent local palliative therapy allowed