Gemcitabine Hydrochloride, Clofarabine, and Busulfan Before Donor Stem Cell Transplant in Treating Patients With Refractory B-Cell or T-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma or Hodgkin Lymphoma

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To define the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of infusional gemcitabine (gemcitabine hydrochloride) combined with fixed doses of clofarabine and busulfan in patients with lymphoma receiving an allogeneic stem-cell transplant (alloSCT). II. To estimate the day +100 success rate, defined as percentage of patients who are alive, engrafted and without grade 3-4 graft-versus (vs.)-host-disease (GVHD). SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To estimate the day +100 success rate (defined as percentage of patients who are alive, engrafted and without grade 3-4 graft-vs.-host-disease \[GVHD\]). II. To estimate the rate of event-free (EFS). III. To estimate the rate of overall survival (OS). IV. To estimate the response rate (RR) (defined as # of responses / # of patients with measurable tumors). V. To estimate the complete response (CR) rate (defined as # of complete responses / # of patients with measurable tumors). VI. To estimate the incidence of grade 2-4 and grade 3-4 acute GVHD. VII. To estimate the incidence of limited and extensive chronic GVHD. OUTLINE: This is a phase I, dose-escalation study of gemcitabine hydrochloride followed by a phase II study. PREPARATIVE REGIMEN: Patients receive gemcitabine hydrochloride intravenously (IV) over 40-180 minutes on days -6 and -4, clofarabine IV over 1 hour on days -6 to -3, and busulfan IV over 3 hours on days -6 to -3. Patients with matched unrelated donors also receive antithymocyte globulin IV on days -3 to -1 and patients with cluster of differentiation (CD)20-positive disease also receive rituximab IV on days -14, -7, 1, and 8. TRANSPLANT: Patients undergo allogeneic bone marrow (BMT) or peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSCT) on day 0. GVHD PROPHYLAXIS: Patients receive tacrolimus IV continuously over 24 hours or orally (PO). Beginning on day 0, patients receive mycophenolate mofetil IV over 2 hours or PO thrice daily (TID). After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at 3, 6, and 12 months, and then every 6 months for 4 years.