Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically proven metastatic breast cancer

- Stage IV disease patients who have either been treated to maximal response or
who have had high dose chemotherapy or a marrow ablative regimen (if they meet
immunologic criteria and have not received more than 2 chemotherapy regimens for
treatment of metastatic disease)

- Patients with advanced stage disease who:

- Received at least 1 standard chemotherapy regimen, but no more than 2, for
treatment of metastatic disease

- Refused chemotherapy

- Refused or progressed despite hormonal therapy

- Measurable or evaluable disease

- Positive or negative for HLA-A2

- Must have superficial inguinal or axillary lymph nodes that are free of tumor
involvement and are surgically accessible

- No symptomatic or acutely life threatening tumor that is judged likely to require
intervention with alternative modalities within 3 months

- No brain metastases

- Hormone receptor status:

- Not specified

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

- 18 and over

Sex:

- Female

Menopausal status:

- Not specified

Performance status:

- ECOG 0 or 1

Life expectancy:

- Not specified

Hematopoietic:

- WBC greater than 3,000/mm^3

Hepatic:

- Not specified

Renal:

- BUN less than 25 mg/dL

- Creatinine less than 1.8 mg/dL

Cardiovascular:

- No ischemic or congestive cardiac disease requiring chronic medication

- No New York Heart Association class III or IV heart disease

- No evidence of ischemic change or ventricular ectopy (greater than 4/min) on
electrocardiogram (EKG)

- No evidence of type II arterial-ventricular block

- No evidence of current cardiac disease by stress test and EKG

Other:

- HIV negative

- No active infection requiring treatment

- No psychiatric illness

- No history of seizure disorder

- No other prior malignancy within the past 10 years except squamous cell or basal cell
skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

- At least 4 weeks since prior specific or nonspecific immunotherapy, unless there is
obvious progression of metastatic disease, and recovered

Chemotherapy:

- See Disease Characteristics

- At least 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy, unless there is obvious progression of
metastatic disease, and recovered

Endocrine therapy:

- At least 4 weeks since prior steroids, unless there is obvious progression of
metastatic disease, and recovered

Radiotherapy:

- Concurrent radiotherapy allowed for local control of disease

Surgery:

- Not specified