Cytarabine and Daunorubicin Hydrochloride or Idarubicin and Cytarabine With or Without Vorinostat in Treating Younger Patients With Previously Untreated Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Inclusion Criteria

• STEP 1 - INDUCTION/RE-INDUCTION
• Patients must have morphologically confirmed newly diagnosed acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) with blood or bone marrow disease; patients with only extramedullary disease in the absence of bone marrow or blood involvement are not eligible; note: this protocol uses World Health Organization (WHO) diagnostic criteria for AML; patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL, French-American-British [FAB], M3) or blastic transformation of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) are not eligible; patients with known core binding factor (CBF) or fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) related leukemias are eligible for this study, but should preferentially be placed on National Cancer Institute (NCI)-sponsored protocols specific for these subtypes, if available
• Patients must have diagnostic/pre-treatment specimens obtained within 28 days prior to registration submitted for cytogenetic (and fluorescent in situ hybridization [FISH] if possible) analysis to determine risk status; high risk classification will be defined as del(5q)/-5, del(7q)/-7, abn3q26 [inv(3)/t(3;3)], 11q23 rearrangement [except t(9;11)], 17p-, t(6;9), t(9;22), complex (at least 3 unrelated abnormalities [abn]), and monosomal karyotype (either loss of two different chromosomes or loss of one chromosome along with a structural chromosome abnormality other than add, ring and mar); karyograms and cytogenetics/FISH analysis reports must be submitted for discipline review
• Patients must be chemo-naïve, i.e., not have received any prior induction chemotherapy for AML or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS); temporary prior measures such as apheresis or hydroxyurea are allowed; prior anthracycline therapy is allowed, but must not exceed a dose of 200 mg/m^2 daunorubicin or equivalent; prior all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) for suspected APL is allowed; prior methotrexate for central nervous system (CNS) involvement is allowed; patients with prior history of MDS must not have received azacitidine, decitabine, lenalidomide or vorinostat
• Patients must have peripheral blood and bone marrow aspirate specimens obtained within 28 days prior to registration submitted for translational medicine; with patient consent, residuals will be banked for future research
• Patients must have Zubrod performance status = = 45% within 28 days prior to registration
• Patients must not have prolonged corrected QT (QTc) interval (> 500 msec) determined by electrocardiogram (EKG) within 28 days prior to registration
• Patients must not have cardiac disease defined as: New York Heart Association (NYHA) > class II; patients must not have unstable angina (angina symptoms at rest) or new onset angina (began within the last 3 months) or myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
• Patients must not have any coexisting medical condition that is likely to interfere with study procedures or results, and must be reasonable candidates for intensive chemotherapy, in the opinion of their treating physicians
• Patients who are known to be human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive (+) are eligible providing they meet all of the following additional criteria within 28 days prior to registration:
• Cluster of differentiation (CD) 4 cells >= 500/mm^3
• Viral load < 50 copies of HIV messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)/mm^3 if on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) or < 25,000 copies of HIV mRNA if not on cART
• No zidovudine or stavudine as part of cART; patients who are HIV+ and do not meet all of these criteria are not eligible for this study
• Patients with known hepatitis B or hepatitis C infection may be eligible providing they have viral load < 800,000 IU/mL within 28 days prior to registration
• Patients must be able to take oral medications
• Patients must have a history and physical examination obtained within 28 days prior to registration
• Patients must not be pregnant or nursing; women/men of reproductive potential must have agreed to use an effective