PET Scans in Assessing Response To Treatment in Patients Receiving Hormone Therapy or Trastuzumab for Breast Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Newly diagnosed breast cancer with 1 of the following:

  * Hormone receptor-positive disease and planning to receive treatment with neoadjuvant aromatase inhibitor and ovarian suppression therapy (if premenopausal)
  * Recurrent and/or metastatic hormone receptor-positive disease and planning to receive treatment with an aromatase inhibitor and ovarian suppression therapy (if premenopausal)
  * Metastatic HER-2/neu-positive disease and planning to receive treatment with neoadjuvant trastuzumab (Herceptin®)
  * Recurrent HER-2/neu-positive disease and planning to receive treatment with trastuzumab (Herceptin®)
* Tumor must be accessible for biopsy and assessable for response

  * Tissue block must be available for review of experimental markers or patient must be willing to undergo biopsy
* Evaluable disease by FDG-PET scan
* Available for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with a clinical indication for PET scan

  * May aslo be enrolled on an experimental nuclear imaging study of 16α-fluoroestradiol F 18-PET scan (if hormone positive)
* Concurrently receiving treatment (hormonal or other) for breast cancer
* Hormone receptor status:

  * Not specified

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

* Female or male
* Postmenopausal or premenopausal
* Life expectancy ≥ 2 months
* No uncontrolled diabetes mellitus or other comorbidity that would preclude imaging
* Not pregnant
* Negative pregnancy test
* Able to tolerate scanning (e.g., no claustrophobia or severe pain)

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* See Disease Characteristics
* Concurrent participation on another clinical study or other imaging studies allowed