External-Beam Radiation Therapy With or Without Indinavir and Ritonavir in Treating Patients With Brain Metastases

OBJECTIVES: * Compare the efficacy, in terms of time to treatment failure at CNS level and 4-months treatment failure rate, in patients with brain metastases treated with external-beam radiotherapy in combination with indinavir sulfate and ritonavir versus external-beam radiotherapy alone. * Prospectively investigate the efficacy of a potentially antiangiogenic agent, indinavir sulfate. * Investigate the antineoplastic activity of indinavir sulfate in combination with ionizing radiation in cancer patients with metastatic disease to the brain. OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. * Arm I: Patients undergo radiotherapy to the brain once daily, 5 days a week for 2 weeks (10 doses total). Patients also receive oral indinavir sulfate and oral ritonavir twice daily for 35 days beginning at day 1 of radiotherapy. * Arm II: Patients undergo radiotherapy to the brain once daily, 5 days a week for 2 weeks (10 doses total). Patients complete quality of life questionnaires, including QOL-30 and the Mini Mental Status Examination, at baseline, 2 weeks after completion of radiotherapy, and at 1 and 3 months after completion of study treatment. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed periodically for at least 4 months.