Edetate Calcium Disodium or Succimer in Treating Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia or Myelodysplastic Syndrome Undergoing Chemotherapy

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: 1. To establish the maximal tolerated dose (MTD) of Phase 1 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients undergoing therapy combined with succimer (DMSA) and edetate calcium disodium (Ca-EDTA). (Phase I dose escalation) 2. To assess the efficacy information regarding the combined therapy in terms of the overall response rate (ORR) including complete remission (CR), CR with partial hematological recovery (CRh), CR with incomplete count recovery (CRi), morphologic leukemia free state (MLFS), and partial remission (PR). (Phase I expansion) SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: 1. To assess the complete remission (CR), complete remission with incomplete hematologic recovery (CRi), complete remission with partial hematological recovery (CRh), partial remission (PR), hematologic improvement (HI), morphologic leukemia free state (MLFS) rates, cytogenetic response, and the 1-year overall survival (OS) in AML patients and the CR/marrow CR/hematologic improvement (HI) rate, partial remission (PR) rate and 1-year overall survival (OS) and cytogenetic response in MDS patients undergoing MDS/AML therapy combined with DMSA and Ca-EDTA. 2. To assess overall survival and event free survival in AML and MDS patients undergoing AML and MDS therapy combined with DMSA and Ca-EDTA 3. To assess remission duration in AML and MDS patients undergoing AML and MDS therapy combined with DMSA and Ca-EDTA. 4. To monitor toxic and essential metal levels during AML and MDS therapy combined with DMSA and Ca-EDTA and to evaluate the reduction in metals in the bone marrow and blood of newly diagnosed AML and MDS patients undergoing metal detoxification combined with standard AML/MDS therapy. 5. To evaluate the safety profile in AML and MDS patients undergoing AML and MDS therapy combined with DMSA and Ca-EDTA. 6. Correlate metal and copper isotopic abundance ratios of AML and MDS patients with clinical data, conventional cytogenetics, extensive next generation sequencing (NGS) (300-gene panel), exposure survey data, and clinical outcome data, and to perform a larger analysis by pooling this data with metal/genomic/survey/outcome data obtained on 2017-0937 and PA15-0302. 7. Estimate the progression rate in MDS patients. 8. To assess other responses of interest. 9. To compare overall survival and response in this study with historical data of patients who were treated without Ca-EDTA and DMSA. EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES: 1. To correlate the degree of metal chelation with the degree of therapeutic response and minimal residual disease (MRD). 2. To collect environmental exposure data on the environmental health assessment survey. 3. To assess P53 folding or p53 activity before and after the first dose of Ca-EDTA chelation in MDS and AML patients, and patients with other malignancies. 4. To study changes in cytogenetic/molecular data during treatment, as well as, protein expression data (by immunohistochemistry or proteomics), including for transcription factors/tumor suppressors (e.g. TP53 and MYC). 5. To perform pre-clinical proof of concept studies of metals and metal chelators in a variety of AML cells and cell lines including: AML cell lines, primary hematologic malignancy cells, stromal cell lines, and patient-derived stromal cells. 6. To explore metal chelation in pediatric, adolescent, and young adult cancer patients.