This randomized pilot trial studies how well higher or lower dose cladribine, cytarabine, and mitoxantrone work in treating medically less fit patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia or myeloid neoplasm. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cladribine, cytarabine, and mitoxantrone, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. It is not yet known whether giving cladribine, cytarabine, and mitoxantrone at higher or lower dose may work better in treating patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To evaluate the feasibility of randomizing medically less fit adults with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or analogous myeloid neoplasms to either intensive or non-intensive induction and post remission chemotherapy.

EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES:

I. To evaluate the attitude of patients and physicians toward randomization and explore reasons for treatment preference.

II. To evaluate whether the ability to assess fitness for intensive chemotherapy can be improved by an augmented treatment-related mortality (TRM) score that includes additional (co-morbidity) factors, and to compare the ability of physicians and the prediction algorithm(s) to assess the likelihood of early death.

III. To compare, within the limits of a pilot study, response, duration of response, and survival between patients receiving intensive and those receiving non-intensive chemotherapy.

IV. To describe the impact of treatment intensity on quality of life of patients undergoing chemotherapy for newly diagnosed AML.

V. To describe the impact of treatment intensity on medical resource utilization and care cost of patients undergoing chemotherapy for newly diagnosed AML.

OUTLINE: Patients agreeable to randomization are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. Patients not agreeable to randomization receive treatment based on their preference.

ARM I (HIGHER-DOSE):

INDUCTION: Patients receive granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) subcutaneously (SC) on days 0-5, higher dose cladribine intravenously (IV) over 2 hours on days 1-5, higher dose cytarabine IV over 2 hours on days 1-5, and higher dose mitoxantrone IV over 60 minutes on days 1-3. Treatment repeats every 6 weeks for up to 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

CONSOLIDATION: Patients who achieve complete response (CR)/CR with incomplete count recovery (CRi) with up to 2 courses of Induction receive G-CSF, cladribine, and cytarabine as in Induction. Courses repeat every 6 weeks for up to 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

ARM II (LOWER-DOSE):

INDUCTION: Patients receive G-CSF SC on days 0-5, lower dose cladribine IV over 2 hours on days 1-5, lower dose cytarabine IV over 1 hour on days 1-5, and lower dose mitoxantrone IV over 60 minutes on days 1-3. Treatment repeats every 6 weeks for up to 12 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

CONSOLIDATION: Patients who achieve complete response (CR)/CR with incomplete count recovery (CRi) with up to 6 courses of Induction receive G-CSF, cladribine, and cytarabine as in Induction. Courses repeat every 6 weeks for up to 12 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up periodically for 5 years.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of untreated "high-grade" myeloid neoplasm (>= 10% myeloid blasts by morphology in bone marrow and/or peripheral blood) or AML other than acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) with t(15;17)(q22;q12) or variants according to the 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) classification; patients with acute leukemias of ambiguous lineage are eligible; outside diagnostic material is acceptable as long as peripheral blood and/or bone marrow slides are reviewed at the study institution and cytogenetic/molecular information is available
• Treatment-related mortality (TRM) score >= 13.1 as calculated with simplified model
• The use of hydroxyurea before enrollment is permitted; hydroxyurea should be discontinued prior to start of study treatment. Patients with symptoms/signs of leukostasis, white blood cell (WBC) > 100,000/uL, or acute symptoms felt related to their high-grade myeloid neoplasm can be treated with leukapheresis or may receive up to 1 dose of cytarabine (up to 500 mg/m^2) anytime prior to study day 1
• Patients may have received treatment (e.g. azacitidine/decitabine, lenalidomide, growth factors) for antecedent low-grade myeloid neoplasm
• Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) >= 45%, assessed within 3 months prior to registration, e.g. by multigated acquisition (MUGA) scan or echocardiography, or other appropriate diagnostic modality
• Women of childbearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception beginning at the signing of the consent until at least 4 weeks after the last dose of study drug
• Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

Exclusion Criteria:

• Myeloid blast crisis of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), unless patient is not considered candidate for tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment
• Concomitant illness associated with a likely survival of < 1 year
• Active systemic fungal, bacterial, viral, or other infection, unless disease is under treatment with anti-microbials and/or controlled or stable; patients with fever thought to be likely secondary to leukemia are eligible; known hypersensitivity to any study drug
• Known hypersensitivity to any study drug used in this trial
• Pregnancy or lactation
• Concurrent treatment with any other anti-leukemia agent