Paclitaxel, Doxorubicin, and Cyclophosphamide With Or Without Carboplatin in Treating Women With Locally Advanced Breast Cancer That Can Be Removed by Surgery

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: * Histologically confirmed invasive basal-type breast cancer meeting the following criteria: * Newly diagnosed disease * Locally advanced or operable primary disease \> 2 cm, without evidence of metastatic disease * Clinical T2 (\> 2 cm), T3 (\> 5 cm), or T4 primary tumors with or without clinical lymph node involvement (N0-3) * T4 tumors are defined by any of the following: * Skin ulceration * Satellite nodules * Peau d' orange (skin edema) * Chest wall invasion * Inflammatory breast cancer * Her-2/neu 0-1+ by IHC (or negative by fluorescent in situ hybridization if Her-2 2+ by immunohistochemistry) * No metastatic disease * Hormone receptor status: * Estrogen and progesterone receptor-negative disease PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Inclusion criteria: * Female * Menopausal status not specified * ECOG performance status (PS) 0-2 or Karnofsky PS 60-100% * Life expectancy \> 10 years * Leukocytes ≥ 3,000/μL * Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/μL * Platelets ≥ 100,000/μL * Total bilirubin normal * AST and ALT ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal * Creatinine normal OR creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min * Not pregnant or nursing * Fertile patients must use effective contraception * Cardiac ejection fraction ≥ 50% as assessed by MUGA scan or 2D echocardiogram Exclusion criteria: * History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to paclitaxel, carboplatin, or other a…