Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Bone marrow examination or peripheral blood analysis confirming active acute myeloid
leukemia by WHO criteria

- No M3 acute myeloid leukemia

- Not a candidate for allogenic bone marrow transplantation

- Patient must be in first relapse after having received induction chemotherapy

- Received 1 or 2 courses with remission lasting at least 1 month

- Patients with chloromas or leukemia cutis are eligible

- No evidence of leptomeningeal involvement

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- ECOG Performance Status 0-2

- Liver enzymes (total bilirubin, AST and ALT) ≤ 2.5 times the upper limits of normal

- Liver enzymes ≥ 2.5 are acceptable if physician documents that it is secondary
to the disease

- Serum creatinine ≤ 3 mg/dL

- No poorly controlled medical conditions that would seriously complicate compliance
with this study

- No other active primary malignancy other than carcinoma in situ of the cervix or
basal cell carcinoma of the skin

- No New York Heart Association grade III or IV cardiac problems, defined as congestive
heart failure or myocardial infarction within 6 months prior to start of study

- Pregnant or nursing women are ineligible

- Negative pregnancy test

- Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 3 months after study
participation

- No documented history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection

- No history of chronic liver disease

- Ejection fraction ≥ 45%

- No significant history of non-compliance to medical regimens or inability to give
reliable informed consent

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- Previous treatment related toxicities should be resolved to grade 1 or better

- No other investigational agents within 14 days prior to the start of study

- No chemotherapy within 4 weeks (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin C) prior to
start of study

- No major surgery within 2 weeks prior to start of study

- At least two weeks must have elapsed since the conclusion of radiation therapy and
the start of gemcitabine hydrochloride, provided the acute effects of radiation
treatment have been resolved