RATIONALE: Erlotinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Giving erlotinib before surgery may make the tumor smaller and reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed.

PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well erlotinib works in treating patients with breast cancer that can be removed by surgery.

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

• To determine the in situ antitumor effect of neoadjuvant erlotinib hydrochloride as measured by a reduction in Ki67 and/or an increase in terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL)-positive tumor cells in patients with treatment-naive, operable breast cancer.

Secondary

• To identify a molecular profile, based on measurements of Estrogen Receptor (ER), Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR), and a Human Epithelial Growth Factor Receptor-2(HER2), and protein expression profiles in patients with treatment-naïve, operable breast cancer that is responsive to erlotinib hydrochloride.
• To correlate tumor concentrations of erlotinib hydrochloride with serum levels immediately before surgery.

OUTLINE: This is a multi-center study.

Patients receive oral erlotinib hydrochloride once daily for 5-14 days. Patients then undergo surgical resection within 24 hours after the last dose of erlotinib hydrochloride.

Tumor tissue samples are collected at baseline and during surgery for correlative laboratory studies. Tissue samples are stained for ER, HER2, and EGFR levels, proliferation (Ki67), and apoptosis (TUNEL) by immunohistochemistry. Levels of erlotinib hydrochloride in tissue samples are measured by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry. Blood samples are collected on the day of surgery. Levels of erlotinib hydrochloride in blood samples are measured by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

Patients are followed within 6 weeks after surgery.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Clinical stage I or II (T1 or T2, N0 or N1) invasive mammary carcinoma

  • Diagnosis may be made by fine needle aspiration cytology or core biopsy

    • A repeat core biopsy is not required for patients who have a paraffin embedded diagnostic core biopsy specimen available for immunohistochemical staining

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with locally advanced disease who are planning to undergo preoperative neoadjuvant therapy are not eligible*

  • Locally advanced disease includes any of the following:

    • Primary tumor ≥ 5 cm (T3)
    • Tumor of any size with direct extension to the chest wall or skin (T4a-c)
    • Inflammatory breast cancer (T4d)
    • Fixed axillary lymph node metastases (N2)
    • Metastasis to ipsilateral internal mammary node (N3) NOTE: *Patients with primary tumors ≥ 5 cm (T3) or tumors involving the chest wall or skin who are not candidates for preoperative chemotherapy or who decline preoperative chemotherapy are eligible

• Measurable residual tumor at the primary site

  • Measurable disease is defined as any mass that can be reproducibly measured by physical examination

• Planning to undergo surgical treatment with either segmental resection or total mastectomy

• Patients with a prior history of contralateral breast cancer are eligible if they have no evidence of recurrence of their initial primary breast cancer

• No locally recurrent breast cancer

• No evidence of distant metastatic disease (i.e., lung, liver, bone, or brain metastases)

• Hormone receptor status not specified

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Menopausal status not specified
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-1
• ANC ≥ 1,000/mm^3
• Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times ULN
• Serum glutamic oxaloacetic transminase (SGOT) and serum glutamic pyruvic transminase (SGPT) ≤ 1.5 times ULN
• Must be at least 18 years old
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No serious medical illness that, in the judgement of the treating physician, places the patient at high risk of operative mortality

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics
• No prior chemotherapy for this primary breast cancer
• At least 7 days since prior tamoxifen or raloxifene as a preventive agent