Vorinostat and Trastuzumab in Treating Patients With Metastatic or Locally Recurrent Breast Cancer

You may be eligible if

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No active or ongoing infection
• No history of allergic reaction to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to vorinostat or other agents used in study
• No psychiatric illness or social situation that would preclude study compliance
• No other uncontrolled illness
• More than 3 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin; 1 week for capecitabine) and recovered
• More than 3 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered
• Recovered from prior therapy
• At least 2 weeks since prior valproic acid
• More than 4 weeks since prior investigational agents
• More than 4 weeks since prior lapatinib ditosylate
• No concurrent combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive patients
• Measurable disease, defined as \>= 1 unidimensionally measurable lesion \> 20 mm by conventional techniques or \> 10 mm by spiral CT scan
• No other concurrent investigational agents
• Concurrent bisphosphonates allowed provided therapy was initiated prior to study treatment
• No other concurrent anticancer therapy
• Recurrent or progressive disease while receiving prior trastuzumab (Herceptin) (with or without chemotherapy) OR relapsed within 3 months of last dose of prior adjuvant trastuzumab for metastatic disease
• Histologically confirmed breast cancer
• Must overexpress HER-2 gene
• Metastatic or chest wall recurrent disease
• Site of measurable disease must not have been irradiated (except chest wall recurrence treated with adjuvant radiation therapy)
• No untreated brain metastases
• Previously treated brain metastasis responsive to radiotherapy and/or surgery allowed provided the brain is not the sole site of measurable disease
• ECOG 0-2
• Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1,500/mm\^3
• Platelet count \>= 100,000/mm\^3
• Hemoglobin \>= 9 g/dL
• AST and ALT =\< 2 times upper limit of normal
• Bilirubin =\< 1.5 mg/dL (3 mg/dL in the presence of Gilbert's disease provided direct bilirubin is normal)
• Creatinine =\< 1.5 mg/dL
• LVEF normal by nuclear scan or echocardiogram
• No evidence of PR prolongation or AV block by EKG
• No symptomatic congestive heart failure
• No unstable angina pectoris
• No cardiac arrhythmia