Docetaxel Followed by Surgery in Treating Women With Stage II or Stage III Breast Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

Inclusion:

* Histologically or cytologically confirmed invasive carcinoma of the breast by core biopsy
* Tumor ≥ 2 cm in greatest dimension(may be either node positive or node negative disease
* Patients with non-metastatic breast cancer who are in the judgment of the treating medical oncologist considered to be of sufficiently high risk to warrant adjuvant chemotherapy

  * Patients with internal mammary, supraclavicular and/or axillary node involvement are eligible. Patients with inflammatory breast cancer are eligible
  * Patients with T0 disease but palpable and measurable adenopathy are eligible for this trial. All sites of disease should be noted and followed
* Hormone receptor status:

  * Not specified

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

* ECOG performance status 0-1
* Menopausal status not specified
* Female ≥ 18 years old
* Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,000/mm\^3
* Hemoglobin ≥ 8 g/dL
* Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm\^3
* Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
* Bilirubin normal
* Alkaline phosphatase (AP), AST, and ALT meeting 1 of the following criteria:

  * AP normal AND AST or ALT ≤ 5 times ULN
  * AP ≤ 2.5 times ULN AND AST or ALT ≤ 1.5 times ULN
  * AP ≤ 5 times ULN AND AST or ALT normal
* Women of child-bearing potential, must have a negative serum pregnancy test and must use effective contraception for the duration of the study and for at least 6 months after completion of study treatment
* Patients with prior malignancies are eligible if they have been disease free for ≥ 5 years. Patients with curative treatment of non-melanomatous skin cancer, carcinoma in situ of the cervix, contralateral DCIS treated with mastectomy are eligible even if it is diagnosed in \< 5 years.

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* No prior anthracycline or taxane-based chemotherapy. Patients who received chemoprevention are eligible if the chemopreventive agent has been discontinued for at least one year prior to enrollment in the current study.
* At least 1 year since prior tamoxifen for breast cancer prevention

Exclusion:

* Prior radiotherapy to the ipsilateral breast

  * Patients who have had radiation to the contralateral breast are eligible
* Evidence of distant metastatic disease (i.e., lung, liver, bone, brain)
* Pregnant of breastfeeding
* Patients who have congestive heart failure, angina pectoris, uncontrolled cardiac arrhythmia, or other significant heart disease, or who have had a myocardial infarction within the past year
* Patients with \> grade 1 peripheral neuropathy
* Patients with a history of hypersensitivity reaction to products containing polysorbate 80 (Tween 80)
* Patients receiving an investigational anticancer drug within 3 weeks of registration
* Patients with serious medical illness that in the judgment of the treating physician, places the patient at risk.