ONTAK® in Treating Patients With Advanced Breast Cancer That Did Not Respond to Previous Treatment

Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients with advanced stage refractory breast cancer
* Progressive or relapsed disease following standard therapy
* Patients must have measurable disease that can include, but is not limited to bone; specifically, patients must have measurable extraskeletal disease that can be accurately measured in at least one dimension as \>= 20 mm with conventional CT techniques or \>= 10 mm with spiral CT scan; measurable (bi-dimensional) chest wall disease will also be allowed
* Patients must be at least 14 days out from last cytotoxic chemotherapy; patients on bisphosphonates are eligible
* White blood cell count (WBC) \> 3.0 THOU/ul
* ANC \> 1.0 THOU/ul
* Platelets \>= 100 THOU/ul
* Serum creatinine =\< 2.0 mg/dL or creatinine clearance (calculated) \>= 60 ml/min
* ALT/AST =\< 2.0 x upper limit of normal
* Total bilirubin =\< 1.5 x upper limit of normal
* Albumin \>= 3.0 g/dL
* Subjects must have a Performance Status Score (ECOG Scale) =\< 2
* Subjects must have recovered from major infections and/or surgical procedures and, in the opinion of the investigator, not have a significant active concurrent medical illness precluding protocol treatment
* Men and women of reproductive ability must agree to contraceptive use during the study and for 1month after ONTAK treatment is discontinued

Exclusion Criteria:

* Prior treatment with ONTAK (DAB389 IL-2) or DAB486 IL-2
* Known history of hypersensitivity to diphtheria toxin or IL-2
* Active autoimmune disease
* Known history of pulmonary disease except controlled asthma
* History of or pre-existing, cardiovascular disease as defined by New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class III-IV categorization
* Pregnant or breast-feeding women