Inclusion Criteria:

          -  Phase I and expansion cohort: Patients must have histologically or cytologically
             confirmed adenocarcinoma of the breast associated with clinical stage: IV (see
             American Joint Committee on Cancer [AJCC] staging criteria, 7th edition) or stage
             IIB-IIIC (expansion cohort only)

          -  Phase II: Patients must have histologically or cytologically confirmed adenocarcinoma
             of the breast associated with the following clinical stage: IIB, IIIA, IIIB, or IIIC
             (see AJCC staging criteria, 7th edition); the tumor must be human epidermal growth
             factor receptor 2 (Her2)/neu negative (by DAKO HercepTest, fluorescence based in situ
             hybridization [FISH], or other approved assay)

          -  Phase I and expansion cohort: Up to two prior non-taxane chemotherapy regimens for
             metastatic disease are permitted for patients enrolled on the phase I portion of the
             trial; patients with HER2/neu positive breast cancer are not eligible; patients
             treated with prior anthracycline therapy as neoadjuvant, adjuvant, or metastatic
             therapy are not eligible unless the following conditions are met: (a) prior cumulative
             doxorubicin dose is =< 240 mg/m^2 (or epirubicin dose is =< 400 mg/m^2), and (b) left
             ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) obtained at baseline is at least 50% (or >= 5%
             above lower institutional limits of normal whichever is higher); patients with
             estrogen receptor (ER)-positive disease are required to have relapse or progression on
             at least one line of endocrine therapy

          -  Phase II: No prior chemotherapy, irradiation, or definitive therapeutic surgery (e.g.,
             mastectomy or lumpectomy or axillary dissection) for this malignancy; patients who
             have had a prior sentinel lymph node biopsy for this malignancy are eligible

          -  Patients who received tamoxifen or another selective estrogen receptor modulator
             (SERM) for prevention or treatment of breast cancer or for other indications (e.g.,
             osteoporosis, prior ductal carcinoma in situ [DCIS]), or who receive aromatase
             inhibitors for prevention or treatment of breast cancer, are eligible; patients who
             are hormone-receptor positive and who have received other hormonal agents for the
             treatment of breast cancer (e.g., Fulvestrant) are also eligible; tamoxifen therapy or
             other hormonal agents should be discontinued at least 1 week before the patient is
             enrolled on this study

          -  Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0 or 1

          -  Leukocytes >= 3,000/uL

          -  Absolute neutrophil count =< 1,500/uL

          -  Platelets >= 100,000/uL

          -  Total bilirubin within normal institutional limits

          -  Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) =< 2.5 x institutional
             upper limit of normal

          -  Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) within normal institutional limits

          -  Creatinine within normal institutional limits

          -  LVEF at or above institutional lower limits of normal (>= 50%), or at least 5% above
             lower limits of normal if prior anthracycline exposure (by echocardiogram or nuclear
             scan within 12 weeks of registration)

          -  Electrocardiogram (ECG) corrected QT (QTC) < 450 msec

          -  Serum calcium within normal institutional limits

          -  Serum phosphorus within normal institutional limits

          -  Fasting glucose within normal limits

          -  Patients must be disease-free of prior invasive malignancies for >= 2 years with the
             exception of curatively-treated basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin,
             carcinoma in situ of the cervix (for phase II only); patients with the following prior
             or concurrent diagnoses are eligible: lobular carcinoma in situ, contralateral ductal
             carcinoma in situ, or contralateral invasive ductal and/or lobular cancer (and no
             prior adjuvant chemotherapy for previous breast malignancy)

          -  Women of childbearing potential must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or
             barrier method of birth control) prior to study entry and for the duration of study
             participation; should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while
             participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately

          -  Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

        Exclusion Criteria:

          -  Patients may not be receiving any other investigational agents during protocol
             therapy, or up to 30 days prior to beginning protocol therapy; there should be a least
             a 1-week interval between last dose of endocrine therapy and protocol therapy, and at
             least 3 weeks for the last dose of biologic therapy (eg, bevacizumab) or cytotoxic
             therapy (or 2 weeks for capecitabine or weekly paclitaxel, 6 weeks for mitomycin-C and
             nitrosoureas), and adequately recovered from adverse effects from prior therapy to
             meet all other eligibility criteria

          -  History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic
             composition to PTX-200 or other agents used in the study (e.g., imidazoles,
             quinolones)

          -  Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active
             infection, diabetes mellitus requiring therapy (insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents),
             congenital prolonged QT syndrome, requirement for a drug known to prolong the QT
             interval, a history of QT prolongation, a screening QTc >= 450 msec,
             hypertriglyceridemia requiring therapy, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable
             angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that
             would limit compliance with study requirements

          -  Pregnant women are excluded from this study; breastfeeding should be discontinued if
             the mother is treated with PTX-200; these potential risks may also apply to other
             agents used in this study

          -  Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients receiving combination
             antiretroviral therapy are excluded from the study