RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more tumor cells.

PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of paclitaxel and capecitabine in treating women who have metastatic breast cancer.

OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the safety, response rate, and efficacy of combination therapy with paclitaxel and capecitabine as first or second line therapy in women with metastatic breast cancer.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients receive paclitaxel IV over 3 hours on day 1 and capecitabine orally twice daily on days 1-14. Treatment repeats every 21 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients are followed for survival status every 3 months upon completion of treatment.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 60 patients will be accrued for this study.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically or cytologically confirmed metastatic breast cancer Bidimensionally measurable disease Hormone receptor status: Not specified

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: 18 to 75 Sex: Female Menopausal status: Not specified Performance status: Karnofsky 70-100% Life expectancy: Not specified Hematopoietic: ANC at least 1,500/mm3 Platelet count at least 100,000/mm3 Hepatic: Bilirubin less than 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) Renal: Creatinine less than 1.5 times ULN Other: Not pregnant or nursing Negative pregnancy test Fertile patients must use effective contraception

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Biologic therapy: Not specified Chemotherapy: Eligible patients may have received prior chemotherapy in metastatic or adjuvant setting with the following exceptions: At least 12 months since prior fluoropyrimidine therapy At least 12 months since prior taxane therapy Only 1 previous chemotherapeutic regimen in the metastatic setting Endocrine therapy: Not specified Radiotherapy: At least 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy Surgery: Not specified