Poly-ICLC in Treating Patients With Recurrent or Progressive Anaplastic Glioma

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically confirmed intracranial anaplastic glioma, including any of the following subtypes:
• * Anaplastic astrocytoma
• * Anaplastic oligodendroglioma
• * Anaplastic mixed oligoastrocytoma
• * Other anaplastic gliomas NOTE: Patients with an original histology of low-grade glioma are allowed provided a subsequent histological diagnosis of an anaplastic glioma is made
• Must have evidence of tumor recurrence or progression by MRI or CT scan\* NOTE: \*Steroid dose must be stable for at least 5 days before scan
• Prior radiotherapy required
• * Patients who have had prior interstitial brachytherapy or stereotactic radiosurgery must have confirmation of true progressive disease rather than radiation necrosis by positron-emission tomography, thallium scanning, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, or surgical documentation of disease
• Relapsed disease
• * Progression after initial therapy (e.g., radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy)
• * No more than 3 prior therapies (initial therapy and treatment for no more than 2 prior relapses)
• * Surgical resection for relapsed disease with no anticancer therapy for up to 12 weeks followed by another surgical resection is considered 1 relapse
• * For patients who have had prior therapy for a low-grade glioma, the surgical diagnosis of high-grade glioma is considered the first relapse
• Must be registered in the North American Brain Tumor Consortium Data Management Center database
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Age
• 18 and over
• Performance status
• Karnofsky 60-100%
• Life expectancy
• More than 8 weeks
• Hematopoietic
• WBC at least 3,000/mm\^3
• Absolute neutrophil count at least 1,500/mm\^3
• Platelet count at least 100,000/mm\^3
• Hemoglobin at least 10 g/dL (transfusion allowed)
• Hepatic
• Bilirubin less than 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• SGOT less than 2 times ULN
• Renal
• Creatinine less than 1.5 mg/dL
• Other
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No other cancer within the past 3 years except nonmelanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix
• No active infection
• No concurrent serious medical illness
• No significant medical illness that cannot be adequately controlled with therapy or that would preclude tolerability of study drug
• No disease that would obscure toxicity or dangerously alter drug metabolism
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Biologic therapy
• At least 1 week since prior interferon or thalidomide
• No prior poly ICLC
• Chemotherapy
• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 2 weeks since prior vincristine
• At least 3 weeks since prior procarbazine
• At least 6 weeks since prior nitrosoureas
• No concurrent chemotherapy
• Endocrine therapy
• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 1 week since prior tamoxifen
• Radiotherapy
• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy
• Surgery
• See Disease Characteristics
• Other
• Recovered from all prior therapy
• At least 1 week since other prior noncytotoxic agents (e.g., isotretinoin), excluding radiosensitizers
• At least 4 weeks since prior cytotoxic therapy
• At least 4 weeks since prior investigational agents