Temozolomide and Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Stage IV Malignant Melanoma With Measurable and Unresectable Cancer of the Central Nervous System

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically confirmed stage IV malignant melanoma with measurable and unresectable disease limited to the central nervous system (CNS)
• * Study entry within 14 days of diagnosis of brain metastases
• Recursive partitioning analysis class I or II
• Disease for which no known standard therapy exists that is potentially curative or proven capable of extending life expectancy
• No meningeal carcinomatosis based on imaging studies or on positive results from CSF analysis
• No evidence of metastatic disease outside of the CNS
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Age
• 18 and over
• Performance status
• Karnofsky 70-100%
• Hematopoietic
• Absolute neutrophil count at least 1,500/mm\^3
• Platelet count at least 100,000/mm\^3
• Hemoglobin at least 9.0 g/dL
• Hepatic
• AST no greater than 3 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Alkaline phosphatase no greater than 3 times ULN
• Renal
• Creatinine no greater than 1.5 times ULN
• Other
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No concurrent uncontrolled infection
• No other malignancy within the past 5 years except basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer treated with local resection only
• No prior allergy or intolerance to dacarbazine
• No hypersensitivity to temozolomide or any of its components
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Biologic therapy
• More than 4 weeks since prior biologic therapy
• More than 4 weeks since prior immunotherapy
• Chemotherapy
• No prior temozolomide
• More than 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for mitomycin or nitrosoureas) and recovered
• Endocrine therapy
• Concurrent steroids allowed if dose stable for at least 7 days prior to CNS imaging
• Radiotherapy
• More than 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy
• No prior radiotherapy to more than 15% of the bone marrow
• No prior radiotherapy to the head and neck area
• No prior radiosurgery