Inclusion Criteria:

- Women presenting with large resectable or locally advanced breast cancer (T2 ≥3 cm,
T3, or T4, and/or LN positive)

- Measurable disease (breast and/or lymph nodes)

- No prior surgery other than biopsy and no prior chemotherapy or radiation therapy

- Age ≥18 years and age ≤70 years

- Karnofsky Performance score ≥70%

- Estrogen and/or progesterone receptor analysis performed on the primary tumour in the
biopsy material

- In case the tumor is ER/PgR ³ 50% positive, (neo)adjuvant hormonal therapy in stead
of chemotherapy should be considered (e.g. in TEAM II study)

- Her2/neu receptor analysis performed on the primary tumour in the biopsy material

- Adequate bone marrow function (within 14 days prior to registration): WBC ≥3.0 x
109/l, neutrophils ≥1.5 x 109/l, platelets ≥100 x 109/l

- Adequate liver function (within 4 weeks prior to start treatment): bilirubin ≤1.5 x
upper limit of normal (UNL) range, ALAT and/or ASAT ≤2.5 x UNL, Alkaline Phosphatase
≤5 x UNL

- Adequate renal function (within 4 weeks prior to start treatment): the calculated
creatinine clearance should be ≥50 mL/min

- Patients must be accessible for treatment and follow-up

- Written informed consent according to the local Ethics Committee requirements

Exclusion Criteria:

- Patients with advanced pulmonary disease of any cause (oxygen dependent)- Peripheral
neuropathy > grade 2 whatever the cause

- Serious other diseases as recent myocardial infarction, clinical signs of cardiac
failure or clinically significant arrythmias

- Evidence of distant metastases (M1)

- Patients with a history of breast cancer

- Patients with a history of another malignancy (except basal cell skin carcinoma and
carcinoma-in-situ of the uterine cervix) within 5 years of study entry- Pregnant or
lactating women, or potentially fertile women not using adequate contraception