Panobinostat in Treating Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia or Acute Myeloid Leukemia

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

Histologically or cytologically confirmed acute myeloid leukemia or acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)

Relapsed or refractory disease
Patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) ALL refractory to BCR/ABL inhibitors are eligible
Patients who have relapsed after prior autologous or allogenic stem cell transplant are eligible
No active CNS disease

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

ECOG performance status 0-2
Serum albumin ≥ 3 g/dL
AST and ALT ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) (5.0 times ULN if transaminase elevation is due to leukemic involvement)
Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times ULN
Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times ULN or creatinine clearance ≥ 50 mL/min
Potassium ≥ lower limit of normal (LLN)
Phosphorous ≥ LLN
Serum total calcium (corrected for serum albumin) or serum ionized calcium ≥ LLN
Magnesium ≥ LLN
Thyroid stimulating hormone and free T4 normal (thyroid hormone replacement therapy allowed)
LVEF ≥ LLN by MUGA or ECHO

No impaired cardiac function, including any of the following:

QTc > 450 msec
Congenital long QT syndrome
History of sustained ventricular tachycardia
History of ventricular fibrillation or torsades de pointes

Bradycardia (i.e., heart rate < 50 beats per minute)

Pacemaker allowed provided heart rate ≥ 50 beats per minute
Myocardial infarction or unstable angina within the past 6 months
New York Heart Association class III-IV congestive heart failure
Right bundle branch block and left anterior hemiblock (bifascicular block)
No uncontrolled hypertension
No unresolved diarrhea > CTCAE grade 1
No impaired gastrointestinal (GI) function or GI disease that may significantly alter the absorption of oral panobinostat
Not pregnant or nursing
Negative pregnancy test
Fertile patients must use effective double-barrier contraception during and for 3 months after completion of study treatment
No other primary malignancy within the past 5 years, other than curatively treated carcinoma in situ of the cervix or basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin
No HIV or hepatitis C positivity
No other concurrent severe and/or uncontrolled medical condition
No significant history of non-compliance to medical regimens or inability to give reliable informed consent

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

See Disease Characteristics
Recovered from all prior therapy
More than 3 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin C) or radiotherapy
More than 4 weeks since prior valproic acid
No other prior treatment with a histone deacetylase inhibitor
No concurrent medication that may cause QTc prolongation or induce torsades de pointes
No concurrent CYP3A4 inhibitors
No concurrent grapefruit, grapefruit juice, or Seville (sour) oranges
No concurrent radiotherapy
No other concurrent anticancer therapy or investigational therapy