Studying Blood and Tumor Tissue Samples in Women With Invasive Breast Cancer, Ductal or Lobular Carcinoma in Situ, or Benign Breast Disease

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: * Biopsy-confirmed diagnosis of one of the following: * Stage I-IV infiltrating ductal or infiltrating lobular carcinoma * Patients with early-stage disease must not have started systemic treatment; if no systemic treatment is planned, patients must be either preoperative or ≤ 120 days since definitive breast surgery * Patients with locally advanced disease must be scheduled for neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to initiation of systemic treatment * Ductal carcinoma in situ * Lobular carcinoma in situ * Benign breast disease * Proliferative or non-proliferative * With or without atypia PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: * Karnofsky performance status 50-100% * Not pregnant * No prior invasive cancer diagnosis within the past 5 years except for squamous cell or basal cell carcinoma of the skin PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: * See Disease Characteristics * No prior systemic therapy (chemotherapy or hormonal therapy) for patients with stage I-III disease