Paclitaxel and Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients Undergoing Surgery for Stage II or Stage III Breast Cancer

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically or cytologically documented invasive carcinoma of the breast\*
• * Tumor ≥ 2 cm in greatest dimension (e.g., T2-4) and any nodal status (e.g., N0-3), including locally advanced disease, as defined by the following criteria:
• * Primary tumor ≥ 5 cm
• * Tumor of any size with direct extension to the chest wall or skin
• * Inflammatory breast cancer (T4d)
• * Metastasis to ipsilateral internal mammary node
• * Ipsilateral lymph nodes that are clinically fixed to each other or to other structures (N2) NOTE: \*Diagnosis may be made by core or tru-cut biopsies
• Measurable or evaluable tumor
• * Measurable disease is defined as any mass that can be reproducibly measured in two perpendicular dimensions
• * Evaluable disease is defined as any lesion visible by mammogram or palpable by physical exam that does not fit the above criteria of measurability
• Planning to undergo breast conservation surgery
• Willing to undergo AND is a candidate for radiotherapy, in the judgement of the treating radiation oncologist
• No evidence of distant metastatic disease (e.g., lung, liver, bone, brain)
• Hormone receptor status not specified
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Menopausal status not specified
• ECOG performance status 0-1
• WBC ≥ 3,000/mm\^3
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm\^3
• Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times ULN
• Left ventricular ejection fraction ≥ 45%
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No other malignancies within the past 5 years, except curatively treated nonmelanomatous skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix
• No history of hypersensitivity reaction to products containing polysorbate 80 (Tween 80)
• No serious medical illness that, in the judgment of the treating physician, places the patient at risk
• No peripheral neuropathy ≥ grade 2
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Prior tamoxifen as chemoprevention allowed
• No prior radiotherapy to the ipsilateral breast
• * Prior radiotherapy to the contralateral breast is allowed
• No prior chemotherapy