Edetate Calcium Disodium or Succimer in Treating Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia or Myelodysplastic Syndrome Undergoing Chemotherapy

Inclusion Criteria

• Understand and voluntarily sign an informed consent form for participants >= 18 years, unless parent or legally authorized representative (LAR) signs along with any required verbal assents and signed assent of minor for participants < 18 years
• Age >= 18 years at the time of signing the informed consent form. Age >= 1 years and <18 years with weight requirement >= 8 kg at the time of the signing of the informed consent form (e.g. by parent or LAR). Patients enrolling in the pediatric/adolescent/young adult exploratory cohort must be: Age ≥ 1 years and <18 years with weight requirement ≥ 8 kg at the time of the signing of the informed consent form (e.g. by parent or LAR), or age 18 years -39 years at the time of the signing of the informed consent form
• Diagnosis of any of the following: * Newly diagnosed (or untreated) AML with intermediate-risk/poor-risk cytogenetics, intermediate-risk/poor-risk molecular, or secondary AML (i.e. therapy-related or evolved from antecedent hematologic malignancy * Newly diagnosed (or untreated) myeloid blast phase of myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) (including myeloid blast phase of chronic myeloid leukemia [CML]) * Newly diagnosed (or untreated) intermediate-risk, high-risk, very-high risk or secondary MDS/myeloid neoplasm * Newly diagnosed (or untreated) MDS/MPN (regardless of cytogenetic/molecular status) * Relapsed and/or refractory AML, MDS/myeloid neoplasm, MDS/MPN, myeloid blast phase of MPN (including myeloid blast phase of CML) * Patients enrolling in the childhood/adolescent/young adult exploratory cohort may have any of the following diagnoses,: ** High-risk or relapsed/refractory childhood, adolescent, or young adult malignancies including but not limited to high-risk or relapsed/refractory ALL or other high-risk or relapsed refractory malignancies ** This includes, but is not limited to, the following: High-risk ALL/LL including TALL/LL, Ph-like ALL/LL, Ph+ B-ALL/LL, B-ALL/LL with CNS lymphoid leukemic involvement, testicular involvement, other extramedullary involvement by ALL/LL; ALL/LL with any of the NCI high-risk features: patients aged 10 years or older and those with a white blood cell count ≥ 50 × 10^9 per L), high-risk cytogenetics (MLL rearrangements, near haploidy [< 30 chromosomes], low hypodiploidy [30–39 chromosomes], t[17;19][q23;p13], intrachromosomal amplification of chromosome 21), Burkitts’; Burkitt’s-like, Double-Hitt; CNS involvement by any non-primary brain malignancy; Metastatic disease of any malignancy; 5-year survival prognosis of less than 50%, based on the treating physician’s assessment
• Patients on non-investigational regimens or on investigational new drug (IND)-exempt MD Anderson studies (for hematologic malignancies) of approved drugs are also eligible
• Patients on IND studies (for hematologic malignancies) utilizing Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved commercially available drugs are eligible
• Investigational agents that are not used for treatment of the leukemia per se (e.g. anti-infective prophylaxis or therapy) will be allowed. Other supportive care studies are allowed, even if under an IND
• Newly diagnosed MDS or AML, as well as MDS/MPN, myeloid blast phase of MPN (including myeloid blast phase of CML), patients can enroll on this study after start of non-investigational induction therapy, but must be within first 3 cycles of therapy of front-line therapy. Patients with relapsed and/or refractory AML, MDS, MDS/MPN, myeloid blast phase of MPN (including myeloid blast phase of CML) can enroll. Newly diagnosed patients enrolling in the exploratory cohort with high-risk malignancies can enroll after the start of non-investigational therapy but must be within first 3 cycles of front-line therapy
• Transformed and untreated AML transformed from previously treated MDS, myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) or other types of secondary AML are allowed. Myeloid blast phase of MPN and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) are allowed
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of =< 3 or Lansky or Karnofsky >= 30 at study entry; patients who are unable to walk, but who are up in a wheelchair, will be considered ambulatory for the purpose of assessing the performance score
• Serum creatinine =< 1.5 mg/dL (unless due to leukemia or other hematologic malignancy)
• Total bilirubin =< 2.0 x upper limit of normal (ULN), unless the patient has Gilbert’s (unless due to leukemia or other hematologic malignancy)
• Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase [SGOT]) and/or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase [SGPT]) =< 2.0 x ULN (unless due to leukemia or other hematologic malignancy)
• Women of childbearing potential (WCBP) must have a negative urine or serum pregnancy test within 7 days and must either commit to continued abstinence from heterosexual intercourse or adopting at least one highly effective method of contraception. These methods include intra-uterine device, tubal ligation, partner’s vasectomy, and hormonal birth control pills. Men must agree not to father a child and agree to use a condom if his partner is of child bearing potential
• Extramedullary disease is allowed as long as it can be measured and followed for response * Note: Patients can be considered MDS by either WHO or French-American-British (FAB) criteria
• EXPLORATORY COHORT FOR CHILDHOOD/ADOLESCENT/YOUNG ADULT CANCERS: Age >= 1 years and <18 years with weight requirement >= 8 kg at the time of the signing of the informed consent form (e.g. by parent or LAR) or age 18-39 years
• EXPLORATORY COHORT FOR CHILDHOOD/ADOLESCENT/YOUNG ADULT CANCERS: High-risk or relapsed/refractory childhood, adolescent, or young adult malignancies including but not limited to high-risk or relapsed/refractory ALL or other high-risk or relapsed refractory malignancies in patients 18-39 years as described below: * High-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)/lymphoblastic lymphoma (LL) including these: T cell (T)-ALL/LL, Ph-like ALL/LL, Ph+ B cell (B)-ALL/LL, B-ALL/LL with central nervous system (CNS) lymphoid leukemic involvement, testicular involvement, other extramedullary involvement by ALL/LL * ALL/LL with any of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) high-risk features: ** NCI high risk: patients aged 10 years or older and those with a white blood cell count >= 50 × 10^9 per L) *** High-risk cytogenetics (MLL rearrangements, near haploidy [<30 chromosomes] *** Low hypodiploidy [30–39 chromosomes] *** t[17;19][q23;p13] *** Intrachromosomal amplification of chromosome 21) *** Burkitts’ *** Burkitt’s-like *** Double-Hitt *** Aggressive or advanced lymphoma
• EXPLORATORY COHORT FOR CHILDHOOD/ADOLESCENT/YOUNG ADULT CANCERS: CNS involvement by any malignancy
• EXPLORATORY COHORT FOR CHILDHOOD/ADOLESCENT/YOUNG ADULT CANCERS: Metastatic disease of any malignancy
• EXPLORATORY COHORT FOR CHILDHOOD/ADOLESCENT/YOUNG ADULT CANCERS: 5-year survival prognosis of less than 50%, based on the treating physician’s assessment

Exclusion Criteria

• Nursing and pregnant females. Should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately
• Uncontrolled inter-current illness including, but not limited to, uncontrolled active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements or which judged by the investigator, places the patient at unacceptable risk
• Acute Promyelocytic leukemia (APL)