DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of a hematologic malignancy treatable with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) OR a B-cell malignancy, including any of the following:

  • Aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and other histologies, such as diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL)

    • Not eligible for conventional myeloablative HSCT OR failed autologous HSCT
    • No rapidly progressive aggressive NHL, unless in minimal disease state
  • Low-grade NHL with less than 6 months duration of complete remission (CR) between courses of conventional therapy

  • Mantle cell lymphoma

    • In first CR

  • Chronic lymphocytic leukemia

    • Meets 1 of the following criteria:

      • Failed to meet NCI Working Group criteria for complete or partial response after therapy with a regimen containing fludarabine (FLU) (or another nucleoside analog, e.g., 2-CDA, pentostatin) or experience disease relapse within 12 months after completing therapy with a regimen containing FLU (or another nucleoside analog)
      • Failed FLU-CY-Rituximab (FCR) combination chemotherapy at any time point
      • Have "17p deletion" cytogenetic abnormality (patients should have received induction chemotherapy but could be transplanted in first CR)

  • Hodgkin's lymphoma

    • Received and failed front-line therapy
    • Failed or were not eligible for autologous transplantation

  • Multiple myeloma

    • Chemosensitive disease after failed autografting
    • No autografting prior (within 6 months) to nonmyeloablative hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT)

  • Acute myeloid leukemia

    • Less then 5% marrow blasts at the time of transplantation and beyond first CR
    • No circulating leukemic blasts in the peripheral blood

  • Acute lymphoblastic leukemia

    • Less than 5% marrow blasts at the time of transplantation and beyond first CR
    • No circulating leukemic blasts in the peripheral blood

  • Chronic myelogenous leukemia

    • Chronic phase (CP) beyond CP1 allowed provided the patient is beyond the first CP and was previously treated with myelosuppressive chemotherapy or HSCT and has less than 5% marrow blasts at time of transplantation
    • No circulating leukemic blasts in the peripheral blood

  • Myelodysplastic syndromes

    • Received prior myelosuppressive chemotherapy or HSCT and less than 5% marrow blasts at time of transplantation

• Not eligible for conventional allogeneic HSCT AND must have disease that is expected to be stable for at least 100 days without chemotherapy

  • Not curable with an autologous transplantation
  • Patients who refused to be treated on a conventional HSCT study are eligible
• Not eligible for a high priority curative autologous transplantation
• No chronic myelomonocytic leukemia or myeloproliferative disorder
• No concurrent CNS involvement with disease refractory to intrathecal chemotherapy

• Available HLA-matched related donor

  • Genotypically identical in at least 1 haplotype
  • Phenotypically or genotypically identical donor at the allele level at HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1 allowed
  • No identical twin NOTE: A new classification scheme for adult non-Hodgkin's lymphoma has been adopted by PDQ. The terminology of "indolent" or "aggressive" lymphoma will replace the former terminology of "low", "intermediate", or "high" grade lymphoma.

However, this protocol uses the former terminology.

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

• Under 75

  • Patients under 12 must be approved by the principal investigator

Performance status

• Karnofsky 50-100% (adult patients)
• Lansky 50-100% (pediatric patients)

Life expectancy

• Not severely limited by disease other than malignancy

Hematopoietic

• Not specified

Hepatic

• No fulminant liver failure
• No cirrhosis of the liver with evidence of portal hypertension
• No alcoholic hepatitis
• No esophageal varices
• No history of bleeding esophageal varices
• No hepatic encephalopathy
• No uncorrectable hepatic synthetic dysfunction evidenced by prolongation of the PT
• No ascites related to portal hypertension
• No bacterial or fungal liver abscess
• No biliary obstruction
• No chronic viral hepatitis with bilirubin greater than 3 mg/dL
• No symptomatic biliary disease

Renal

• Not specified

Cardiovascular

• Ejection fraction at least 35%*
• No poorly controlled hypertension despite multiple hypertensive drugs
• No symptomatic coronary artery disease*
• No other cardiac failure requiring therapy* NOTE: *For patients with a history of cardiac disease or anthrocycline use

Pulmonary

• DLCO at least 30%
• Total lung capacity at least 30%
• FEV_1 at least 30%
• No concurrent supplementary continuous oxygen
• No fungal pneumonia with radiological progression after receiving amphotericin formulation or mold-active azoles for more than 1 month

Other

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for up to 12 months after study participation
• HIV negative
• No active nonhematologic malignancy except localized nonmelanoma skin cancer
• No nonhematologic malignancy not in complete remission with > 20% risk of disease recurrence except nonmelanoma skin cancer

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

• See Disease Characteristics
• More than 6 months since prior autograft immediately before nonmyeloablative HSCT (tandem approach)
• More than 3 weeks (from the initiation of conditioning) since prior cytotoxic agents for "cytoreduction, " except tyrosine kinase inhibitors (e.g., imatinib mesylate), cytokine therapy, hydroxyurea, low dose cytarabine, chlorambucil, or rituxan

Chemotherapy

• See Disease Characteristics
• See Biologic therapy
• More than 3 weeks since prior myelosuppressive chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy

• Not specified

Radiotherapy

• Not specified

Surgery

• Not specified