Partial Breast Irradiation With Chemotherapy

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving radiation therapy together with cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin after surgery may kill any tumor cells that remain. PURPOSE: This phase I/II trial is studying the side effects of radiation therapy when given together with cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin and to see how well they work in treating women with stage I or stage II breast cancer who have undergone surgery.

OBJECTIVES: * Assess the potential acute and late skin and subcutaneous toxicities in women with resected stage I or II breast cancer treated with partial breast irradiation (PBI) and concurrent cyclophosphamide/doxorubicin (AC) chemotherapy. * Assess the cosmetic effects of partial breast irradiation/chemotherapy (PBIC) in these patients. * Assess the local control rate in patients treated with this regimen. OUTLINE: Patients undergo partial breast radiotherapy once daily, 5 days a week, for 3 weeks. Patients also receive doxorubicin IV over 15 minutes and cyclophosphamide IV over 30 minutes on day 1. Treatment with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide repeats every 2 weeks for up to 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed periodically for approximately 10 years. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 42 patients will be accrued for this study.