Etoposide, Prednisone, Vincristine Sulfate, Cyclophosphamide, and Doxorubicin Hydrochloride With Asparaginase in Treating Patients With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia or Lymphoblastic Lymphoma

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine the efficacy of dose-adjusted etoposide, prednisone, vincristine sulfate, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin hydrochloride plus asparaginase (DA-EPOCH-A) in adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (ALL). SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To evaluate the safety and feasibility of this regimen. OUTLINE: Patients receive etoposide, doxorubicin hydrochloride, and vincristine sulfate intravenously (IV) continuously over days 1-4, cyclophosphamide IV over 1 hour on day 5, and prednisone orally (PO) twice daily (BID) on days 1-5. Patients also receive asparaginase intramuscularly (IM) or IV over 1-2 hours every 2-3 days, beginning day 7 of each course. Patients who are cluster of differentiation (CD)20 positive and Philadelphia chromosome negative also receive rituximab IV on day 1 or 5. Patients who are Philadelphia chromosome positive also receive imatinib mesylate PO on days 1-14. Treatment repeats every 21 days for up to 8 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up every 3 months for 2 years and then every 6 months for 3 years.