S0919 Idarubicin, Cytarabine, and Pravastatin in Treating Patients With Relapsed Acute Myeloid Leukemia

COHORTS: Cohort 1 (Initial cohort: Relapsed AML with previous remission ≥ 3 months), Cohort 2 (Poor-risk cohort: MDS transformed to AML), Cohort 3 (Poor-risk cohort: Refractory or relapsed AML with previous remission \< 6 months) OBJECTIVES: * To test whether the complete remission (CR) rate (including CR with incomplete recovery) in patients with relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated with idarubicin and cytarabine in combination with pravastatin is sufficiently high to warrant a phase III investigation. * To estimate relapse-free survival and overall survival rates in these patients. * To estimate the frequency and severity of toxicities of this regimen in these patients. * To evaluate, in a preliminary manner, whether pre-study cytogenetic features correlate with response in these patients. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. * Induction therapy: Patients receive oral pravastatin once daily on days 1-8, idarubicin IV over 10-15 minutes on days 4-6, and cytarabine IV continuously on days 4-7. Patients achieving complete remission proceed to consolidation therapy. * Consolidation therapy: Beginning 30-60 days after the start of induction therapy, patients receive oral pravastatin once daily on days 1-6 and idarubicin IV over 10-15 minutes and cytarabine IV continuously on days 4 and 5. Treatment repeats approximately every 5 weeks for up to 2 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed periodically for 5 years.