Tipifarnib and Combination Chemotherapy in Treating Patients With Stage II or Stage III Breast Cancer

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine the recommended phase II dose of tipifarnib when given together with paclitaxel in patients with stage IIB-IIIC breast cancer. (Phase I) II. To determine the pathologic complete remission rate (including breast and breast plus axillary nodes) in patients treated with sequential paclitaxel and tipifarnib followed by dose-dense doxorubicin hydrochloride, cyclophosphamide, and tipifarnib. (Phase II) III. To determine the feasibility and safety of this regimen in these patients. (Phase I and II) OUTLINE: This is a multicenter, phase I, dose-escalation study of tipifarnib followed by a phase II study. PHASE I: Paclitaxel plus tipifarnib: Patients receive paclitaxel IV over 1 hour on day 1 and oral tipifarnib twice daily on days 1-3. Treatment repeats weekly for 12 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients with no evidence of disease progression after 12 courses proceed to AC chemotherapy plus tipifarnib. Cohorts of 3-6 patients receive escalating doses of tipifarnib until the recommended phase II dose (RTPD) is determined. The RTPD is defined as the dose preceding that at which 2 of 3 or 2 of 6 patients experience dose-limiting toxicity. AC chemotherapy plus tipifarnib: Patients receive doxorubicin hydrochloride IV over 5-10 minutes and cyclophosphamide IV over 30-60 minutes on day 1, oral tipifarnib twice daily on days 2-7, and pegfilgrastim subcutaneously on day 2. Treatment repeats every 2 weeks for 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. PHASE II: Patients receive paclitaxel and tipifarnib at the RTPD and AC chemotherapy plus tipifarnib as in phase I. After completion of AC plus tipifarnib (in both phases), patients are re-evaluated for surgery (i.e., modified radical mastectomy, radical mastectomy, segmental mastectomy or lumpectomy with an axillary lymph node dissection). After completion of study treatment, patients are followed every 6 months for 5 years and then annually for 5 years.