OBJECTIVES: Primary * Determine the efficacy of gemtuzumab ozogamicin and cyclosporine, in terms of the complete remission rate, in older patients with relapsed acute myeloid leukemia. * Determine the toxicity and pharmacokinetics of this regimen in these patients. Secondary * Correlate clinical response with laboratory studies of drug susceptibility in patients treated with this regimen. OUTLINE: Patients receive cyclosporine IV continuously over 72 hours on days 1-3 and 15-17. Eight hours after initiation of each cyclosporine infusion, patients receive gemtuzumab ozogamicin IV over 2 hours on days 1 and 15. Treatment continues in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients are followed for survival. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 25-50 patients will be accrued for this study within 3 years.
DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: * Morphologically confirmed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) by bone marrow aspirate * More than 20% blasts by morphologic criteria * Relapsed disease ≥ 3 months after prior complete remission * Blasts CD33-positive by flow cytometry * No primary hematologic disorder that preceded initial presentation with AML * No documented secondary AML related to prior chemotherapy or toxin exposure * No acute promyelocytic leukemia (FAB M3) * Not a candidate for transplant therapy * No active CNS leukemia PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age * 60 and over Performance status * Karnofsky 70-100% Life expectancy * Not specified Hematopoietic * WBC ≤ 30,000/mm\^3 (hydroxyurea allowed) Hepatic * Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) * AST or ALT ≤ 1.5 times ULN Renal * Creatinine ≤ 1.5 mg/dL Other * HIV negative * No uncontrolled infection PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Biologic therapy * Not planning hematopoietic stem cell transplantation immediately after study therapy Chemotherapy * See Disease Characteristics * See Hematopoietic Endocrine therapy * Not specified Radiotherapy * Not specified Surgery * Not specified Other * More than 1 month since prior investigational agents * No other concurrent anticancer therapy * No administration of any of the following for 24 hours after cyclosporine administration: * Diltiazem * Verapamil * Erythromycin * Clarithromycin * Metoclopramide * Phenytoin * Rifampin * Phenobarbital * Aminoglycosides * Amphotericin B * Vancomycin * Cimetidine * Ranitidine * Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole * Ketoconazole * Fluconazole * Itraconazole * Voriconazole * Carbamazepine