Protocol for Herceptin as Adjuvant Therapy With Reduced Exposure to Chemotherapy (PHARE-C)

RATIONALE: According to previous results from PHARE study, a subgroup of patients with low-risk cancer (\< 3 cm) without axillary lymph node involvement or small (\< 2 cm) with minimal lymph node involvement (1 positive node) presented low risk of recurrence. Maintaining chemotherapy in this subgroup could cause toxicity and it is not yet known whether giving trastuzumab as monotherapy in neoadjuvant setting is as effective as giving trastuzumab combined with paclitaxel in patients with low risk early breast cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying trastuzumab as monotherapy in neoadjuvant setting to see if this treatment regimen is as efficient compared to trastuzumab combination with paclitaxel chemotherapy in treating women with low risk (tumor size\< 3 cm, N0) early breast cancer.