Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Confirmed diagnosis of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) meeting 1 of the
following criteria:

- Binet stage C disease or stage B or A disease requiring treatment

- Binet stage B or A disease meeting ≥ 1 of the following:

- B-symptoms (e.g., night sweats, weight loss ≥ 10% within the past 6 months, fevers >
38°C or 100.4°F for ≥ 2 weeks without evidence of infection) or constitutional
symptoms (e.g., fatigue)

- Progressive lymphocytosis, defined as peripheral lymphocyte count > 5 x 10^9/L
(i.e., > 50% increase over a 2-month period or doubling of peripheral blood
lymphocyte count < 6 months)

- Evidence of progressive marrow failure as manifested by the
development/worsening of anemia and/or thrombocytopenia

- Massive, progressive, or painful splenomegaly or hypersplenism

- Massive lymph nodes or lymph node clusters (> 10 cm in longest diameter) or
progressive or symptomatic lymphadenopathy

- No 17p deletion by FISH

- No aggressive B-cell cancer, such as Richter syndrome

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- WHO performance status 0-2

- Life expectancy ≥ 6 months

- Total bilirubin ≤ 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN) (unless directly attributable
to CLL)

- AST and ALT ≤ 2 times ULN (unless directly attributable to CLL)

- Creatinine clearance ≥ 70 mL/min (creatinine clearance is to be calculated only in
patients with serum creatinine ≥ 1.1 mg/dL)

- Not pregnant or nursing

- Negative pregnancy test

- Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for ≥ 6 months after
completion of study therapy

- Hepatitis B and C negative

- HIV negative

- CIRS score > 6 or a single score of 4 for one organ category

- No active secondary malignancy requiring treatment, except basal cell carcinoma or
malignant tumor curatively treated by surgery, or successfully treated secondary
malignancies in complete remission > 5 years prior to enrollment

- No history of anaphylaxis following exposure to monoclonal antibodies

- No active bacterial, viral, or fungal infection

- No medical condition requiring prolonged use of oral corticosteroids (i.e., > 1
month)

- No cerebral dysfunction or legal incapacity

- No circumstance that would preclude completion of the study or the required follow-up

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- No prior CLL specific-chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and/or immunotherapy

- Prednisolone administered immediately prior to initiation of study therapy
allowed for very high lymphocyte counts

- No concurrent participation in another clinical trial