Primary objective:
* Maintain and expand tissue repositories of highly characterized samples from patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, or myelodysplastic syndromes.
Other objectives as funding permits:
* Develop laboratory assays for rapid and precise diagnosis of leukemia using bone marrow and peripheral blood samples.
* Determine biologic, genetic, and molecular parameters that distinguish different subtypes of human leukemia with differing responses to therapy, and develop "risk-adapted" therapeutic approaches based on these parameters to tailor therapeutic regimens, randomize or stratify patients in clinical trials, or otherwise assist in therapeutic decision-making.
* Develop new automated and standardized laboratory methods for the detection and monitoring of therapeutic responsiveness and minimal residual disease in patients and use this information to design clinical trials.
OUTLINE: Patients receive treatment as directed by the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) study to which they are registered.
Patients undergo collection of peripheral blood (myeloid leukemia) or venous blood (lymphoid leukemia) and bone marrow at baseline, at the time of response or remission, and at the time of progression or relapse. Additional collections may take place according to the guidelines of the study in which the patient is registered.
Specimens are stored for use in laboratory research.
PROJECTED ACCRUAL: Samples from a maximum of 1,000 patients will be collected for this study.
