Combination Chemotherapy in Treating Women With Stage I, Stage II, or Stage IIIA (cT1-3, N0-1, M0) Breast Cancer and Positive Axillary Lymph Nodes

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Giving combination chemotherapy after surgery may kill any tumor cells remaining following surgery. It is not yet known which regimen of combination chemotherapy is more effective in treating breast cancer with positive axillary lymph nodes. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of different regimens of combination chemotherapy in treating women who have undergone surgery for stage I, stage II, or stage IIIA breast cancer with positive axillary lymph nodes.