PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:~I. To determine temporal changes in leukemic cell nuclear factor of kappa light chain enhancer of B-cells 1 (NF-kB) activity when salicylate (choline magnesium trisalicylate) is administered to patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) during induction chemotherapy.~II. To determine toxicities associated with administration of salicylate in the setting of induction chemotherapy.~III. To determine if salicylate alters the expression of NF-kB-regulated genes in AML cells.~IV. To determine if NF-kB modulation by salicylate alters AML chemotherapy drug efflux.~OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms.~ARM I: Patients receive choline magnesium trisalicylate orally (PO) every 8 hours on days 0-7, idarubicin intravenously (IV) on days 1-3, and cytarabine IV continuously on days 1-7.~ARM II: Patients receive idarubicin IV on days 1-3 and cytarabine IV continuously on days 1-7.~In both arms, treatment continues in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.~After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up periodically.
This randomized phase II trial studies how well choline magnesium trisalicylate with idarubicin and cytarabine works in treating patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as choline magnesium trisalicylate, 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. It is not yet know whether choline magnesium trisalicylate and combination chemotherapy is more effective than combination chemotherapy alone in treating patients with acute myeloid leukemia.