OBJECTIVES:
Primary
* Evaluate the efficacy of positron emission tomography (PET) utilizing 3'-deoxy-3'-(18F) fluorothymidine (\^18F-FLT) to correctly identify response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in women with locally advanced unilateral breast cancer.
* Correlate PET-\^18F-FLT results with histological response.
Secondary
* Evaluate the correlation of early changes in tumor uptake of \^18F-FLT after the first course of chemotherapy with complete response after treatment completion.
* Evaluate the correlation of early changes in tumor uptake of \^18F-FLT with histologic response in biopsies obtained after 1 course of chemotherapy.
* Determine if the initial intensity of tumor uptake is a predictive value of response to chemotherapy.
* Determine if initial intensity of tumor uptake of \^18F-FLT varies according to histologic type of tumor, indices of proliferation, and tumor cellularity before therapy.
* Determine if the tumor uptake of \^18F-FLT during therapy varies according to histologic type of tumor, indices of proliferation, and tumor cellularity before therapy.
* Evaluate the role of TK1 on the kinetics of \^18 F-FLT.
* Analyze serum.
* Research biomarkers of genomics, transcription, and proteomics.
* Evaluate the toxicity of \^18F-FLT.
OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study.
Patients receive 3'-deoxy-3'-(18F) fluorothymidine (\^18F-FLT) IV and undergo positron emission tomography (PET) before the first and second courses of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Patients receiving bisequential chemotherapy undergo \^18F-FLT-PET before the change in drugs (usually the fourth or fifth course). All patients undergo a final \^18F-FLT-PET after the last chemotherapy course but before surgery.
After completion of study therapy, patients are followed for 1 month.
