SU5416 and Doxorubicin in Treating Patients With Stage IIIB or Stage IV Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Inclusion Criteria

• •DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Histologically or cytologically confirmed stage IIIB or IV (supraclavicular lymph node involvement or metastasis) inflammatory breast cancer
• •* Primary or secondary
• •No brain metastases or primary brain tumors
• •Hormone receptor status:
• •* Not specified
• •PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Age:
• •18 and over
• •Sex:
• •Male or female
• •Menopausal status:
• •Not specified
• •Performance status:
• •ECOG 0-2
• •Life expectancy:
• •At least 12 weeks
• •Hematopoietic:
• •WBC at least 3,500/mm\^3
• •Granulocyte count at least 1,500/mm\^3
• •Platelet count at least 100,000/mm\^3
• •Hemoglobin greater than 9.0 g/dL
• •Hepatic:
• •Bilirubin normal
• •AST and ALT less than 2 times upper limit of normal
• •PT and PTT normal OR
• •INR less than 1.1
• •Renal:
• •Creatinine less than 1.5 mg/dL OR
• •Creatinine clearance greater than 60 mL/min
• •Cardiovascular:
• •LVEF at least 50% by MUGA
• •No New York Heart Association class III or IV heart disease
• •No uncompensated coronary artery disease
• •No myocardial infarction or unstable angina within the past 6 months
• •No deep venous or arterial thrombosis within the past 3 months
• •Pulmonary:
• •No history of pulmonary embolism within the past 3 months
• •Other:
• •Not pregnant or nursing
• •Negative pregnancy test
• •Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• •No history of diabetes mellitus with severe peripheral vascular disease
• •No other prior or concurrent malignancies within the past 10 years except inactive nonmelanomatous skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix
• •No other uncontrolled illnesses
• •PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• •Biologic therapy:
• •No concurrent epoetin alfa or filgrastim (G-CSF)
• •Chemotherapy:
• •No more than 2 prior chemotherapy regimens allowed
• •No prior doxorubicin or other anthracycline
• •Endocrine therapy:
• •Not specified
• •Radiotherapy:
• •Prior radiotherapy allowed
• •Surgery:
• •Not specified