RATIONALE: Rasburicase may be an effective treatment for graft-versus-host disease caused by a donor stem cell transplant.

PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying how well rasburicase works in preventing graft-versus-host disease in patients with hematologic cancer or other disease undergoing donor stem cell transplant.

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

• To evaluate the incidence and severity of acute graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) in rasburicase-treated patients who will undergo myeloablative human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched related or unrelated donor allogeneic peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT) for hematologic malignancies and compare these outcomes with those of historical controls.

Secondary

• To evaluate the efficacy (in terms of reduction of uric acid levels) and safety of rasburicase in patients undergoing myeloablative allogeneic SCT.
• To evaluate the graft-versus-host and host-versus-graft immune responses in rasburicase-treated patients.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study.

Patients receive a conventional myeloablative conditioning regimen consisting of high doses of cyclophosphamide, busulfan, and etoposide, with or without total-body irradiation. Depending on the preparative regimen selected, the conditioning of recipients will take a total of 6 to 7 days. On day 0, patients will receive filgrastim (G-CSF)-mobilized HLA-matched, related, or unrelated donor allogeneic peripheral blood stem cells (unmanipulated). Patients will receive standard graft-vs-host disease prophylaxis consisting of cyclosporine or tacrolimus and methotrexate or sirolimus. Patients will receive rasburicase IV over 30 minutes, beginning on the first day of conditioning therapy, for 5 consecutive days. If after 5 days of rasburicase the patient's uric acid plasma level remains above 5 mg/dL, rasburicase may be continued for up to 7 days in total.

Blood is obtained on day 0 and then at 14, 28, and 42 days post-transplant for immunologic studies, including quantitative analysis to follow the recovery of T cells, B cells, natural killer cells, dendritic cells (DC), and monocytes using flow cytometry (FCM); phenotypic analysis of T cells, DC and monocytes by FCM; lymphocyte activation analysis: CD3, CD4, CD8, CD25 2. CD3, CD8, CD71, CD69; DC analysis: CD45, CD14, DR, CD86, CD80 2. CD45, CD14, CD40, CD11c; and in vitro functional studies such as mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) and cell-mediated lysis (CML) to assess for the graft-versus-host and host-versus-graft responses. Peripheral blood is collected for chimerism studies on days 28 and 100 post-transplant.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed periodically.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Patients with hematologic malignancies for whom conventional myeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplantation is deemed clinically appropriate and who are eligible for conventional myeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplantation on treatment plans/protocols, including any of the following:

  • Non-Hodgkin lymphoma or Hodgkin lymphoma (relapsed or refractory disease)
  • Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (received more than one previous treatment regimen)
  • Acute myelogenous or lymphoblastic leukemia (AML/ALL) (high-risk disease, in first complete remission [CR1] or subsequent remission, or primary refractory disease)
  • Chronic myelogenous leukemia in tyrosine-kinase resistant chronic phase, accelerated or blast phase, or primary refractory disease
  • Myelodysplastic syndromes in International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) high-intermediate or high-risk groups
  • Other hematologic disorders for which allogeneic stem cell transplantation is appropriate (e.g., myelofibrosis)

• Patients who have relapsed after standard autologous and/or allogeneic bone marrow transplant are eligible

• Must be receiving filgrastim (G-CSF)-mobilized related or unrelated donor allogeneic peripheral blood stem cells

  • Patients receiving hematopoietic stem cells of any other sources such as a marrow graft or umbilical cord blood will not be eligible for this study

• Donor must be HLA-genotypically or phenotypically 6 of 6 antigen matched (at the A, B, DR loci) related or unrelated

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Inclusion criteria:

• Patients with a "currently active" second malignancy other than non-melanoma skin cancers can only be registered if survival from the second malignancy is expected to be more than 1 year

• Ejection fraction ≥ 45% by either radioisotope Multiple Gated Acquisition Scan (MUGA) scan or Echocardiogram (ECHO)

• Diffusing Capacity of the Lung for Carbon Monoxide (DLCO) ≥ 50% of predicted with no symptomatic pulmonary disease

• Mini Mental Status Exam Score ≥ 20

• Patients must have an expected life expectancy of at least 3 months

• Patients with symptomatic visceral, blood stream or nervous system opportunistic infection are eligible if the infection has been appropriately treated and controlled

  • Patients with a fungal infection must have had treatment for at least one month and must have proof of regression of the infection prior to enrollment
  • Patients may be on antibiotics at the time of transplant

Exclusion criteria:

• Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection

• Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus

• Active congestive heart failure from any cause

  • Previous history of congestive heart failure allowed

• Active angina pectoris

• Oxygen-dependent obstructive pulmonary disease

• Failure to demonstrate adequate compliance with medical therapy and follow-up

• Known history of Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency or history of hemolysis indicative of G6PD deficiency

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics