Flavopiridol and Vorinostat in Treating Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Acute Leukemia or Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia or Refractory Anemia

Inclusion Criteria: Diagnosis of one of the following: Relapsed or refractory acute leukemia (acute myeloid leukemia [AML], acute lymphoblastic leukemia [ALL], or acute leukemia unclassifiable) following at least one prior systemic treatment Acute leukemia in a patient 60 years or older (no requirement for prior treatment) Acute leukemia that has evolved from a prior myelodysplastic syndrome Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in blast crisis following prior imatinib mesylate therapy Refractory anemia with excess blasts-2 (RAEB-2) No known CNS leukemia ECOG performance status 0-2 WBC < 50,000µL Hydroxyurea and/or leukaphereses may be used to lower WBC Creatinine =< 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) OR creatinine clearance >= 50 mL/min Total bilirubin =< 2 times ULN AST/ALT =< 2.5 times ULN QTc interval =< 0.470 seconds Not pregnant or nursing Negative pregnancy test Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 3 months after study participation No other condition that would preclude study participation At least 3 weeks since prior treatment (expect leukaphereses) No valproic acid therapy within the past 2 weeks No prior autologous or allogeneic bone marrow or stem cell transplantation No hydroxyurea use within the past 24 hours No concurrent treatment with other anti-cancer agents or investigational agents