Clofarabine, Melphalan, and Thiotepa Followed By a Donor Stem Cell Transplant in Treating Patients With High-Risk and/or Advanced Hematologic Cancer or Other Disease

This is an interventional treatment trial for Graft Versus Host Disease focused on measuring graft versus host disease, adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia in remission, adult acute myeloid leukemia in remission, childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in remission, childhood chronic myelogenous leukemia, recurrent childhood acute myeloid leukemia, accelerated phase chronic myelogenous leukemia, acute undifferentiated leukemia, adult acute myeloid leukemia with 11q23 (MLL) abnormalities, blastic phase chronic myelogenous leukemia, juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia, previously treated myelodysplastic syndromes, recurrent adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia, recurrent adult acute myeloid leukemia, relapsing chronic myelogenous leukemia, secondary acute myeloid leukemia, secondary myelodysplastic syndromes, childhood acute myeloid leukemia in remission, de novo myelodysplastic syndromes, recurrent childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, chronic phase chronic myelogenous leukemia, adult acute myeloid leukemia with inv(16)(p13;q22), adult acute myeloid leukemia with t(15;17)(q22;q12), adult acute myeloid leukemia with t(16;16)(p13;q22), adult acute myeloid leukemia with t(8;21)(q22;q22), childhood myelodysplastic syndromes Read More

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically or cytologically confirmed diagnosis of 1 of the following:

  • Acute myelogenous leukemia, meeting 1 of the following criteria:

    • In first complete remission (CR), meeting 1 of the following criteria:

      • Poor risk [no t(15,17), inv 16, or t(8,21)]
      • Not a candidate for total body irradiation (TBI)
      • Any infant in first CR

    • In second CR, meeting the following criteria:

      • All patients

    • In more than second CR OR relapsed/refractory disease, meeting the following criteria:

      • All patients
      • Blast percentage > 5% and < 25% in bone marrow (BM) at the time of stem cell transplantation (SCT)

  • Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, meeting 1 of the following criteria:

    • In first CR, meeting 1 of the following criteria:

      • Poor risk [t(9;22), t(4;11) AND no CR after 7-28 days of induction]
      • Not a candidate for TBI
      • Any infant in first CR

    • In second CR, meeting the following criteria:

      • All patients

    • In more than second CR OR relapsed/refractory disease, meeting the following criteria:

      • All patients
      • Blast percentage > 5% and < 25% in BM at the time of SCT

    • Acute undifferentiated or biphenotypic leukemia, meeting the following criteria:

      • All patients
      • Blast percentage > 5% and < 25% in BM at the time of SCT

    • Chronic myelogenous leukemia, meeting the following criteria:

      • All patients
      • In first chronic phase

    • Myelodysplastic syndrome, meeting 1 of the following criteria:

      • Primary high risk disease

        • Stage > RAEB1

      • Secondary high risk disease

        • All patients
        • Any stage

      • Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia

        • All patients
• No doubling of peripheral blast counts within a period of 2 weeks
• No active CNS disease

• HLA-compatible donor available meeting 1 of the following criteria:

  • Related donor

    • Genotypically or phenotypically matched at ≥ 7 or 8 of HLA-A, -B, -C and -DRB1 alleles

  • Unrelated donor meeting 1 of the following criteria:

    • 8 of 8 alleles matched
    • For patients < 18 years old only: 7 or 8 alleles matched with the mismatch at only 1 HLA-A, -B, -C, or -DRB1 allele

• Two HLA-compatible unrelated cord blood (UCB) units available meeting the following criteria:

  • HLA-matched minimally at 4 of 6 HLA-A, HLA-B, and DRB1 allele

    • HLA-A and HLA-B matched at intermediate resolution by molecular technique
    • DRB1 allele matched at high resolution by molecular technique
  • Both matched UCB units with cryopreserved nucleated cell dose ≥ 1.5 x 10^7/kg

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Karnofsky OR Lansky performance status 70-100%
• SGOT < 2 times upper limit of normal
• Bilirubin < 1.5 mg/dL (unless there is liver disease involvement)
• Creatinine normal OR creatinine clearance > 60 mL/min
• LVEF > 50% at rest OR shortening fraction ≥ 29%
• Patients with asymptomatic pulmonary disease with no prior risk factors OR symptomatic pulmonary disease with diffusion capacity > 50% of predicted (corrected for hemoglobin) are eligible
• No active uncontrolled viral, bacterial, or fungal infection
• No known HIV I or II positivity
• No known human T-cell lymphotrophic virus I or II positivity
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• No hydroxyurea within the past 2 weeks
• No allogeneic or autologous stem cell transplantation within the past 6 months