Bicalutamide in Treating Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: * Histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the breast * Stage IV disease * Measurable or non-measurable disease * Patients with HER2/neu-positive disease must have received prior trastuzumab (Herceptin®) * No active brain metastases or leptomeningeal disease * History of brain metastases allowed provided lesions are stable for at least 3 months as documented by head CT scan or MRI of the brain * Hormone receptor status: * Estrogen receptor- and progesterone receptor-negative\* * Androgen receptor-positive\* NOTE: \*Samples are considered positive if greater than 10% of cell nuclei are immunoreactive PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: * Male or female * Menopausal status not specified * ECOG performance status 0-1 * Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm³ * Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm³ * Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dL * AST and ALT ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) * Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times ULN * Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2.5 times ULN (unless bone metastases are present in the absence of liver metastases) * Creatinine ≤ 1.5 mg/dL * Not pregnant or nursing * Negative pregnancy test * Fertile patients must use effective contraception * No serious medical or psychiatric illness * No serious active infection * No other malignancy within the past 5 years except nonmelanoma skin cancer * No hypersensitivity reaction to bicalutamide or any of the tablet's components PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: * At least 2 weeks since prior cytotoxic chemotherapy and recovered * At least 3 weeks since prior investigational drugs * At least 4 weeks since prior major surgery and recovered * Prior neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy allowed * Any number of chemotherapy regimens are allowed for metastatic disease * Prior hormonal therapy allowed * No concurrent chemotherapy, other hormonal therapy, immunotherapy, or biological therapy * No concurrent trastuzumab (Herceptin®) * No concurrent enrollment in another clinical trial in which investigational procedures are performed or investigational therapies are administered