Neoadjuvant Therapy With Herceptin and Taxol for Breast Cancer

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients must have Stage II or III histologically diagnosed breast cancer * Primary invasive breast cancers that overexpress the HER2/neu oncogene * Age older than 18 years * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of \< 1 * White blood cell (WBC) \> 4000/mm3 * Platelet count \> 100,000/mm3 * Bilirubin \< 1 x upper limit of normal (ULN) * SGOT \< 1 x ULN * Creatinine \< 1.5mg/dl * Normal cardiac function and electrocardiogram (EKG) showing absence of ischemic changes or ventricular hypertrophy Exclusion Criteria: * Excisional biopsy, sentinel node dissection or axillary node dissection. * Prior history of breast cancer unless: diagnosed at least 2 years ago, present cancer is not in a previously irradiated breast, no prior therapy with anthracycline or taxane, no prior high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell or bone marrow transplant. * Pregnant or breast-feeding women * Uncontrolled infection * Active or severe cardiovascular or pulmonary disease * Peripheral neuropathy of any etiology that exceeds grade 1 * Prior history of malignancy treated without curative intent * Uncontrolled diabetes