Dr. Yesid Alvarado-Valero, MD

Daunorubicin-Cytarabine + Gemtuzumab

for Acute Myeloid Leukemia

This phase II trial studies the side effects and how well liposome-encapsulated daunorubicin-cytarabine and gemtuzumab ozogamicin work in treating patients with acute myeloid leukemia that has come back (relapsed) or that does not respond to treatment (refractory) or high risk myelodysplastic syndrome. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as liposome-encapsulated daunorubicin-cytarabine, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Gemtuzumab ozogamicin is a monoclonal antibody, called gemtuzumab, linked to a toxic agent called calicheamicin. Gemtuzumab ozogamicin attached to CD33 positive cancer cells in a targeted way and delivers calicheamicin to kill them. Giving liposome-encapsulated daunorubicin-cytarabine and gemtuzumab ozogamicin together may be an effective treatment for relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia or high risk myelodysplastic syndrome.