Ixabepilone and Cyclophosphamide as Neoadjuvant Therapy in HER-2 Negative Breast Cancer

In this study, patients with early stage, HER2-negative breast cancer will receive neoadjuvant treatment with ixabepilone and cyclophosphamide given every three weeks for a total of six cycles. Following surgery patients with hormone receptor-positive tumors will receive anti-estrogen treatment. Patients may receive local regional radiation therapy after surgery per institutional guidelines at the investigator's discretion. Baseline tumor tissue and tumor tissue removed at the time of surgery will be tested by Oncotype Detailed Description (DX) assay to determine whether it is predictive of response to this neoadjuvant treatment regimen. This study will be one of the first investigations of the combination of ixabepilone and cyclophosphamide as neoadjuvant treatment for HER2-negative breast cancer. It will examine this treatment regimen for potential advantages gained from substitution of ixabepilone for a taxane and use of non-anthracycline agents.