Belinostat and Azacitidine in Treating Patients With Advanced Hematologic Cancers or Other Diseases

Inclusion Criteria:

* Histologically confirmed diagnosis of 1 of the following:

  * Relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
  * Relapsed or refractory acute promyelocytic leukemia (must have failed both tretinoin and arsenic trioxide)
  * Relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia
  * Secondary AML, including AML arising from antecedent hematologic diseases, such as myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) or myeloproliferative disorders, OR therapy-related AML
  * Chronic myelogenous leukemia in accelerated or blast phase
  * Advanced phases of Philadelphia chromosome-negative (Ph-) chronic myeloproliferative disorders, as defined by ≥ 1 of the following:

    * Presence of anemia (hemoglobin \< 10 g/dL and/or red blood cell transfusion dependent)
    * Presence of palpable splenomegaly
  * MDS, including chronic myelomonocytic leukemia

    * Must have intermediate or high-risk International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) scores (≥ 0.5)
    * Low-risk IPSS scores allowed provided ≥ 1 of the following criteria are met:

      * Hemoglobin \< 10 g/dL and/or red blood cell transfusion dependent
      * Platelet count \< 50,000/mm³
      * Absolute neutrophil count \< 1,000/mm³
* Refractory disease OR no standard therapy exists
* Evidence of AML associated with dysplasia on bone marrow histology for elderly patients (i.e., \> 60 years old) who are previously untreated and not candidates for or unwilling to undergoing induction therapy
* No known active CNS involvement with disease
* CALGB performance status (PS) 0-2 OR Karnofsky PS 60-100%
* Bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL (unless due to Gilbert's syndrome)
* ALT ≤ 3 times upper limit of normal (unless due to disease)
* Creatinine ≤ 2 mg/dL
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* No history of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to PXD101 or Azacitidine
* No history of allergic reactions to mannitol
* No history of dose-limiting toxicity during prior treatment with Azacitidine
* No concurrent uncontrolled illness including, but not limited to, the following:

  * Ongoing or active infection
  * Symptomatic congestive heart failure
  * Unstable angina pectoris
  * Cardiac arrhythmia
  * Psychiatric illness or social situation that would preclude compliance with study requirements
* No marked baseline prolongation of QT/QTc interval (e.g., repeated demonstration of a QTc interval \> 500 msec)
* No long QT syndrome
* No uncontrolled cardiovascular disease, including the following:

  * Severe uncontrolled hypertension
  * Uncontrolled congestive heart failure related to primary cardiac disease
  * Uncontrolled cardiac arrhythmia
  * Uncontrolled ischemic or severe valvular heart disease
  * Myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
* See Disease Characteristics
* Recovered from prior therapy
* At least 2 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for mitomycin C or nitrosoureas)
* At least 2 weeks since prior radiotherapy
* At least 4 weeks since prior investigational agents
* At least 24 hours since prior hydroxyurea
* At least 2 weeks since prior valproic acid
* No concurrent combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive patients
* No other concurrent investigational agents
* No concurrent medication that may cause torsade de pointes
* No other concurrent anticancer therapy, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or biological agents