RATIONALE: Giving chemotherapy, such as hydroxyurea, cytarabine, idarubicin, and etoposide before a donor bone marrow transplant or stem cell transplant helps stop the growth of cancer cells. It also helps stop the patient's immune system from rejecting the donor's stem cells. Interferon alfa may interfere with the growth of cancer cells and slow the growth of cancer. When the healthy stem cells from a donor are infused into the patient they may help the patient's bone marrow make stem cells, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. It is not yet known whether chemotherapy is more effective with or without interferon alfa and/or bone marrow or stem cell transplant in treating patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying chemotherapy and biological therapy to see how well it works compared with chemotherapy, biological therapy, and donor bone marrow transplant or autologous stem cell transplant in treating patients with chronic phase chronic myelogenous leukemia.
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Survival
Frequency, time-point, and duration of hematologic and cytogenetic remissions and of Philadelphia chromosome-negative and/or BCL-ABL-positive cells
Correlation of quality of hematological and cytogenetic remission with survival time
Course of the terminal phase
Toxicity
Effect of prognostic criteria and normal or subnormal WBC on chronic phase duration and survival time
Effect of early vs late high-dose therapy and autografting on feasibility, toxicity and survival times