RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more cancer cells.

PURPOSE: Phase I/II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy in treating patients who have previously untreated acute myeloid leukemia.

OBJECTIVES:

• Determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of topotecan when combined with daunorubicin, cytarabine, and etoposide in patients with de novo acute myeloid leukemia.
• Determine the efficacy of this regimen at the MTD of topotecan by measuring the complete response rate in this patient population.
• Determine the days of hospitalization and number of infections associated with this regimen in these patients.
• Correlate serum levels of topotecan and etoposide with the expression of topoisomerase I and II in tumor cells and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMN), as well as with toxicity and response rate in these patients.
• Correlate tumor cell and PBMN expression and activity of topoisomerase I and II with hematological toxicity and clinical response in these patients.
• Correlate levels of activation of STAT signaling proteins with expression of bcl-2 family proteins and response to chemotherapy in these patients.

OUTLINE: This is a dose-escalation study of topotecan (phase I) followed by a response rate-determination (phase II) study.

Patients receive induction chemotherapy with daunorubicin IV over 10-15 minutes on days 1-3, cytarabine IV continuously on days 1-5, topotecan IV continuously on days 6-8, and etoposide IV over 60 minutes on days 9 and 10. Within 4 weeks of hematologic recovery, patients achieving remission after induction receive consolidation chemotherapy with cytarabine IV over 1 hour every 12 hours on days 1, 3, and 5. Subsequent courses of consolidation chemotherapy begin within 2 weeks of documentation of hematologic recovery from the prior consolidation course. Consolidation chemotherapy continues for 4 courses in the absence of unacceptable toxicity or disease progression.

Cohorts of 3-6 patients receive escalating doses of topotecan until the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) is determined. The MTD is defined as the dose preceding that at which 2 of 3 or 2 of 6 patients experience dose-limiting toxicity. Once the MTD is determined, additional patients are accrued to receive induction chemotherapy at the recommended phase II dose.

Patients are followed at 1 month, every 2 months for 1 year, every 3 months for 2 years, every 6 months for 2 years, and then annually thereafter.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 3-36 patients (phase I) and then an additional 24-27 patients (phase II) will be accrued for this study within 4 years.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed newly diagnosed, previously untreated acute myeloid leukemia (AML)

  • All FAB types, M0-M7, excluding M3
  • No AML after myelodysplastic syndrome

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

• 16 to 59

Performance status:

• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) 0-2

Life expectancy:

• Not specified

Hematopoietic:

• Not specified

Hepatic:

• Bilirubin less than 2 mg/dL
• SGOT/SGPT normal unless due to leukemic disease
• Alkaline phosphatase normal unless due to leukemic disease

Renal:

• Creatinine no greater than 2.0 mg/dL OR
• Creatinine clearance greater than 60 mL/min

Cardiovascular:

• Ejection fraction at least 50% by MUGA
• No myocardial infarction or serious ventricular arrhythmia within the past 6 months

Other:

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No other prior malignancy within the past 5 years except resected skin cancer
• HIV negative

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

• Not specified

Chemotherapy:

• No prior topotecan or any other DNA topoisomerase I inhibitor (e.g., irinotecan, aminocamptothecin, or nitrocamptothecin) or etoposide for any prior malignancy

Endocrine therapy:

• Not specified

Radiotherapy:

• Not specified

Surgery:

• Not specified