DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Microscopically confirmed metastatic breast cancer Must be refractory or have recurred after at least 1 systemic chemotherapy regimen Estrogen receptor positive tumors must have failed or recurred after hormonal therapy At least 1 site of measurable disease required Previously radiated lesions are not considered measurable unless there is evidence of disease progression after completion of radiation therapy No known brain metastases Hormone receptor status: Unspecified