Tetra-O-Methyl Nordihydroguaiaretic Acid in Treating Patients With Recurrent High-Grade Glioma

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically confirmed malignant glioma, including any of the following subtypes:
• * Anaplastic astrocytoma
• * Anaplastic oligodendroglioma
• * Glioblastoma multiforme
• Progressive or recurrent disease after radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy
• * Patients with a previous low-grade glioma that has progressed to biopsy-confirmed high-grade glioma after radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy are eligible
• Contrast-enhancing measurable disease by MRI or CT scan
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Karnofsky performance status 60-100%
• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm³
• Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dL
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm³
• Creatinine ≤ 1.5 mg/dL
• Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 mg/dL
• Transaminases ≤ 4 times upper limit of normal
• Prothrombin Time (PT)/partial thromboplastin time (PTT) /international normalized ratio (INR) normal
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective barrier contraception during and for 2 months after completion of study treatment
• Mini Mental State Exam score ≥ 15
• No serious concurrent infection or medical illness that would impair the ability to safely receive study treatment
• No other prior or concurrent malignancy within the past 5 years except for curatively treated carcinoma in situ or basal cell carcinoma of the skin
• No known sensitivity to any of the study medication components (i.e., polyethylene glycol \[PEG 300\] and 2-hydroxypropyl β-cyclodextrin)
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• See Disease Characteristics
• Recovered from prior therapy
• At least 3 months since prior radiation therapy
• At least 3 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas)
• At least 2 weeks since prior Federal Drug Administration (FDA)-approved noncytotoxic therapy (e.g., celecoxib or thalidomide)
• At least 3 weeks since prior investigational noncytotoxic agents
• At least 10 days since prior anticonvulsant drugs that induce hepatic metabolic enzymes, including any of the following:
• * Phenytoin
• * Carbamazepine
• * Phenobarbital
• * Primidone
• * Oxcarbazepine
• * Ethosuximide
• No other concurrent therapy for this tumor, including systemic chemotherapy or radiation therapy
• * Concurrent steroids allowed