Conditions: Adult Acute Megakaryoblastic Leukemia (M7) Adult Acute Minimally Differentiated Myeloid Leukemia (M0) Adult Acute Monoblastic Leukemia (M5a) Adult Acute Monocytic Leukemia (M5b) Adult Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia With Maturation (M2) Adult Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia Without Maturation (M1) Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia With 11q23 (MLL) Abnormalities Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia With Del(5q) Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia With Inv(16)(p13;q22) Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia With t(16;16)(p13;q22) Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia With t(8;21)(q22;q22) Adult Acute Myelomonocytic Leukemia (M4) Adult Erythroleukemia (M6a) Adult Pure Erythroid Leukemia (M6b) Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia de Novo Myelodysplastic Syndromes Myelodysplastic/Myeloproliferative Neoplasm, Unclassifiable Refractory Anemia With Excess Blasts Untreated Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Allocation: NA | Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Enrollment: 24
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
This clinical trial studies idarubicin, cytarabine, and pravastatin sodium in treating patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndromes. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as idarubicin and cytarabine, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Pravastatin sodium may stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Giving idarubicin and cytarabine together with pravastatin sodium may kill more cancer cells.

Detailed description:
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To assess the rate of achieving a "good complete response (CR)" after treating patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with idarubicin, cytarabine and pravastatin (pravastatin sodium) (IAP).

II. To determine the toxicity (death within 28 days of starting therapy = treatment related mortality or "TRM") with IAP in newly-diagnosed AML.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To determine rates of complete remission (CR), remission with incomplete blood count recovery (CRi), partial remission (PR), relapse-free survival and overall survival.

II. To identify biomarkers (ie. changes in serum cholesterol) associated with clinical responses.

OUTLINE:

Patients receive pravastatin sodium orally (PO) once daily (QD) on days 1-8, idarubicin intravenously (IV) over 10-15 minutes on days 4-6, and cytarabine IV continuously on days 4-7. Treatment repeats every 28-56 days for up to 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up every 3 months for 2 years and then annually for 3 years.

Arms:
arm 1: Patients receive pravastatin sodium PO QD on days 1-8, idarubicin IV over 10-15 minutes on days 4-6, and cytarabine IV continuously on days 4-7. Treatment repeats every 28-56 days for up to 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Interventions: intervention 1: pravastatin sodium intervention 2: idarubicin intervention 3: cytarabine intervention 4: laboratory biomarker analysis
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Given PO intervention 2: Given IV intervention 3: Given IV intervention 4: Correlative studies

Protocol document: