Inclusion Criteria:

- Histologically confirmed breast cancer: at least three fast biopsies.

- Primary tumor ≥2 cm acc. to clinical measurement or manifestation of an inflammatory
breast cancer.

- No systemic metastasis, exclusion by chest x-ray, sonogram of the upper abdomen and
skeletal scintiscan.

- Age ≥18 years and ≤65 years.

- ECOG < 2/WHO 0-1

- Adequate organ function defined as SGOT and bilirubin ≤ 1.5× upper limit WBC ≥ 3000
/µL Neutrophils ≥ 1000 /µL Platelets ≥ 100,000 /µL Serum creatinine < 2.0 mg/dL

- Unremarkable heart echo

- No florid hepatitis

- Written consent to participate in the treatment optimization protocol

Exclusion Criteria:

- Multicentricity in various quadrants (contact the study office)

- Known allergy to E. coli-produced medication

- Known allergy to medication containing cremophor (e.g., cyclosporin A)

- Patients receiving immunosuppressant therapy

- Lack of consent after informing the patient

- Lack of willingness to keep and disclose personal medical data as part of the study

- Pregnancy, nursing

- Secondary malignancy, excluding basalioma of the skin or carcinoma in situ of the
cervix that has received curative therapy

- Pre-existing treatment-resistant cardiac disease, coronary heart disease,
arrhythmias, cardiac insufficiency

- Patients with uncontrolled hypertension (diastolic >95 mmHg)

- A history of convulsions

- Known hypersensitivity to darbepoetin alfa or any of its other ingredients or a known
hypersensitivity to r-HuEPO