Paclitaxel, Nab-paclitaxel, or Ixabepilone With or Without Bevacizumab in Treating Patients With Stage IIIC or Stage IV Breast Cancer

Inclusion Criteria

• Histologic confirmation of invasive cancer of the breast
• Stage IV disease or stage IIIC disease (using American Joint Committee on Cancer [AJCC] criteria, 6th edition) not amenable to local therapy
• Patients may not have a "currently active" second malignancy other than non-melanoma skin cancers; patients are not considered to have a "currently active" malignancy if they have completed therapy and are considered by their physician to be at less than 30% risk of relapse
• Patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) negative disease are eligible; patients with HER2+ disease are eligible providing they have previously received trastuzumab or lapatinib; documentation of progression on HER2 directed therapy is not required; Her2/neu status must be known at the time of protocol registration
• Estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) status must be known at the time of registration; ER and/or PgR >= 1% cells will be considered positive
• Prior treatment may include adjuvant or neoadjuvant taxane, however, the interval between completion of adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapy and disease recurrence must be >= 12 months
• No prior chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer
• Any number of prior hormonal therapies are allowed; the last dose should have been administered at least 7 days prior to the initiation of protocol therapy
• Prior radiotherapy must be completed at least 2 weeks prior to study entry
• Treatment with bisphosphonates is allowed and recommended as per American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) guidelines
• Prior trastuzumab or lapatinib required for patients with HER2 overexpressing tumors
• Prior treatment with bevacizumab is allowed
• Patients must not have had a major surgical procedure, open biopsy, or significant traumatic injury within 28 days prior to study registration, and must have fully recovered from any such procedure
• The following are not considered to be major procedures: thoracentesis, paracentesis, port placement, laparoscopy, thoracoscopy, bronchoscopy, endoscopic ultrasonographic procedures, mediastinoscopy, skin biopsies, incisional biopsies and routine dental procedures
• Patients must not have anticipation of need for a major surgical procedure during the course of the study
• There are no restrictions on core biopsies, placement of a vascular access device or other minor procedures prior to registration
• Placement of a vascular access device after starting study therapy should be performed between day 15 and 28 of a treatment cycle (but not less than 48 hours before the next dose of bevacizumab) to allow for sufficient healing
• Patients must have measurable disease (target lesions): measurable disease is defined as at least one lesion that can be accurately measured in at least one dimension (longest diameter to be recorded) as >= 2.0 cm with conventional techniques or as >= 1 cm with spiral computed tomography (CT) scan
• Lesions that are considered non-measurable include the following:
• Bone lesions
• Leptomeningeal disease
• Ascites
• Pleural/pericardial effusion
• Inflammatory breast disease
• Lymphangitis cutis/pulmonitis
• Abdominal masses that are not confirmed and followed by imaging techniques
• Cystic lesions
• Patients with pre-existing peripheral neuropathy >= grade 2 are not eligible for this study
• Patients must have an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) (Zubrod) performance status of = = 3 hypersensitivity to paclitaxel or Cremophor® EL are not eligible
• Patients with a history of abdominal fistula, or intra-abdominal abscess within 6 months prior to study registration are not eligible
• Patients with a history of gastrointestinal (GI) perforation within 12 months prior to registration are not eligible
• Patients with a history of significant bleeding episodes (e.g., hemoptysis, upper or lower GI bleeding) within 6 months prior to registration are not eligible
• Patients must not have a history of clinically