Erlotinib in Treating Women Undergoing Surgery For Stage I, Stage II, or Stage III Breast Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Inclusion * Cytologically or histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the breast * Stage I-III disease * BI-RADS 4 or 5 abnormalities on breast imaging and undergoing core needle biopsy for diagnosis * Participants must have a lesion of at least 1-cm on breast imaging studies (mammogram, ultrasound, or MRI) * Participants must have breast cancer amenable to surgery with curative intent and must have agreed to undergo such surgery * The surgical procedure must be scheduled in the near future to accommodate a treatment period of no less and no more than 15 days * Clinically positive for the overexpression of EGFR and interleukin-1α * Clinically negative for expression of the estrogen receptor (ER-negative) and progesterone receptor (PgR-negative) * May be positive or negative for HER2 Exclusion * Locally advanced or metastatic disease not amenable to surgery * Known brain metastases PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Inclusion * Female * Menopausal status not specified * ECOG performance status (PS) 0-2 or Karnofsky PS 60-100% * ANC ≥ 1000/mm³ * Platelet count ≥ 75,000/mm³ * AST and ALT ≤ 2.5 times upper limits of normal (ULN) * Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2.5 times ULN * Bilirubin ≤ 2 times ULN * Hemoglobin \> 9 g/dL * Creatinine within normal institutional limits OR creatinine clearance \>60 mL/min * Negative serum pregnancy test within 7 days of enrollment for pre-menopausal women and women within 6 months of menopause * Women of child-bearing potential and their partners must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation Exclusion * Pregnant or nursing * History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to erlotinib hydrochloride * Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, any of the following: * Ongoing or active infection * Symptomatic congestive heart failure * Unstable angina pectoris * Cardiac arrhythmia * Psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Exclusion * Received any other therapy (i.e., surgery, radiation, hormone treatment, biologic therapy, and/or chemotherapy) for the treatment of breast cancer * Concurrent use of anti-neoplastic or anti-tumor agents not part of the study therapy, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and hormonal anticancer therapy * Receiving any other investigational agents