RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as docetaxel and carboplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Monoclonal antibodies, such as trastuzumab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some block the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill them or carry tumor-killing substances to them. Lapatinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. It is not yet known whether docetaxel and carboplatin are more effective when given together with trastuzumab and/or lapatinib in treating women with stage I, stage II, or stage III breast cancer.

PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is studying how well docetaxel and carboplatin work when given together with trastuzumab and/or lapatinib in treating women with stage I, stage II, or stage III breast cancer that can be removed by surgery.

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

• To investigate the clinical efficacy of neoadjuvant docetaxel and carboplatin in combination with trastuzumab (Herceptin®) and/or lapatinib ditosylate by estimating the pathologic complete response (pCR) rate in the breast and axilla of women with HER2/neu-positive resectable stage I-III adenocarcinoma of the breast.

Secondary

• To estimate the molecular effects of lapatinib ditosylate and trastuzumab alone or in combination on tumor tissues of these patients by assessing changes in gene expression using serial gene microarray analysis.
• To assess for gene expression and/or biomarker changes that may be correlated with or predict pCR and clinical response to lapatinib ditosylate and/or trastuzumab in these patients.
• To evaluate the safety and tolerability of these regimens in these patients.
• To evaluate the clinical efficacy of these regimens by estimating the clinical objective response rate (complete response and partial response) in these patients.
• To estimate the rate of congestive heart failure or drop in LVEF (> 10% points from baseline and below lower limits of normal) in each of the three treatment arms.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to baseline tumor size (≤ 3 cm vs > 3 cm) and hormone receptor status (estrogen receptor [ER]- and/or progesterone receptor [PR]-positive vs ER- and PR- negative). Patients are randomized to 1 of 3 treatment arms.

• Arm I: Patients receive a trastuzumab IV over 90 minutes on day 1 in course 1. Patients receive docetaxel IV, carboplatin IV, and trastuzumab IV over 30 minutes on day 1 in courses 2-7. Courses repeat every 21 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
• Arm II: Patients receive oral lapatinib ditosylate once daily on days 1-21 in course 1. Patients receive docetaxel IV, carboplatin IV as in arm I and oral lapatinib ditosylate once daily on days 1-21 in courses 2-7. Courses repeat every 21 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
• Arm III: Patients receive trastuzumab IV as in arm I on day 1 and oral lapatinib ditosylate as in arm II on days 1-21 in course 1. Patients receive docetaxel IV, carboplatin IV, and trastuzumab IV as in arm I on day 1 and oral lapatinib ditosylate as in arm II on days 1-21 in courses 2-7. Courses repeat every 21 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Within 4-6 weeks after completion of chemotherapy, all patients under go definitive surgery and/or radiotherapy at the discretion of the treating physician. Tumor biopsy and blood samples are collected for biomarker analysis and molecular analysis at baseline, after course 1, and at the time of definitive breast surgery or completion of chemotherapy. Gene expression changes are analyzed by mRNA microarray analysis and molecular changes in protein expression profiles by IHC. Samples may also be analyzed by RT-PCR.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically or cytologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the breast
  • Stage I or II disease (early stage) with tumor measuring ≥ 1 cm and meeting any the following criteria:
    • Grade > 1
    • Estrogen receptor- and progesterone receptor-negative
    • Age ≤ 35 years
  • Stage II-III (locally advanced) disease
  • Resectable disease
• Meets none of the following criteria:
  • Inflammatory breast cancer, defined as the presence of erythema or induration involving > 1/3 of the breast
  • Bilateral invasive breast cancer
  • Metastatic disease
• HER2/neu-positivity by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)
• Hormone receptor status known

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Menopausal status not specified
• ECOG performance status 0-1
• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm³
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm³
• Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL
• Creatinine < 1.5 mg/dL
• Total bilirubin ≤ 1.0 times upper limit of normal (ULN) (< 3 times ULN in patients with Gilbert's syndrome confirmed by genotyping or Invader UGTIA1 molecular assay)
• Alkaline phosphatase (AP), ALT, and AST must meet 1 of the following criteria:
  • AP normal AND AST/ALT ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
  • AP ≤ 2.5 times ULN AND ALT/AST ≤ 1.5 times ULN
  • AP ≤ 5 times ULN AND AST/ALT normal
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for ≥ 3 months after completion of study treatment
• Cardiac function normal (ejection fraction ≥ lower limit of normal) as determined by MUGA or echocardiogram
• No history of any other malignancy within the past 5 years, with the exception of nonmelanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix
• No pre-existing motor or sensory neurotoxicity ≥ grade 2 by NCI NTCAE version 3.0
• No cardiac disease including any of the following:
  • Myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
  • Unstable angina
  • New York Heart Association class II-IV congestive heart failure
• No inflammatory bowel disease or other bowel condition causing chronic diarrhea and requiring active therapy
• No active, uncontrolled infection requiring parenteral antimicrobials
• No known hypersensitivity to Chinese hamster ovary products or other recombinant human or humanized antibodies and/or known hypersensitivity to any of the study drugs or their ingredients (e.g., polysorbate 80 in docetaxel)
• Accessible and willing to comply with treatment, tissue acquisition, and follow up
• No other medical or psychiatric disorder that, in the opinion of the treating physician, would contraindicate the use of study drugs or place the subject at undue risk for treatment complications

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• At least 14 days since prior and no concurrent hormonal agent (e.g., raloxifene, tamoxifen citrate, or other selective estrogen receptor modulators) for osteoporosis or prevention of breast cancer
• At least 14 days since prior herbal or dietary supplements
• No prior ipsilateral radiotherapy for invasive or noninvasive breast cancer or to the ipsilateral chest wall for any malignancy
• No prior chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or endocrine therapy for currently diagnosed invasive or noninvasive breast cancer
• No concurrent ovarian hormonal replacement therapy
• No concurrent therapy with any other non-protocol anticancer therapy
• No concurrent inducers and inhibitors or CYP3A4
• No concurrent grapefruit juice or grapefruit