Busulfan and Etoposide Followed by Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplant and Low-Dose Aldesleukin in Treating Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia

This phase II trial studies the side effects and how well giving busulfan and etoposide followed by peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSCT) and low-dose aldesleukin works in treating patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as busulfan and etoposide, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. A PBSCT may be able to replace blood-forming cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy. This may allow more chemotherapy to be given so that more cancer cells are killed. Aldesleukin may stimulate the white blood cells to kill cancer cells. Giving busulfan and etoposide together followed by PBSCT and aldesleukin may be an effective treatment for AML.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To evaluate the toxicity and overall survival of high dose Bu (busulfan)/VP-16 (etoposide) followed by post-transplant low-dose interleukin (IL)-2 (aldesleukin) in patients with AML. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To estimate the rate of relapse associated with this regimen. OUTLINE: PREPARATIVE REGIMEN: Patients receive busulfan intravenously (IV) over 2 hours or orally (PO) every 6 hours on days -7 to -4 and etoposide IV on day -3. STEM CELL INFUSION: Patients undergo autologous or syngeneic PBSC rescue on day 0. POST-TRANSPLANT ALDESLEUKIN THERAPY: Beginning 30-100 days after transplant, patients receive low-dose aldesleukin subcutaneously (SC) daily for 12 weeks. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up every 3 months for 2 years, every 6 months for 3 years, and then annually thereafter.