OBJECTIVES: I. Compare overall and disease-free survival in patients with operable adenocarcinoma of the breast treated with 4 courses of preoperative doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (AC) alone vs 4 courses of preoperative or postoperative docetaxel (TXT) following 4 courses of preoperative AC. II. Evaluate whether the addition of preoperative TXT to preoperative AC results in improved rates of clinical and pathologic locoregional tumor response. III. Assess whether the addition of preoperative TXT to preoperative AC results in improved rates of breast conservation. IV. Assess whether postoperative TXT improves disease-free and overall survival in patients who receive preoperative AC, especially in certain subgroups of patients (e.g., those with pathologically positive nodes).