Radiation Therapy, Arsenic Trioxide, and Temozolomide in Treating Patients With Newly Diagnosed High-Grade Glioma

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Newly diagnosed grade III or IV glioma including any of the following:
• * Glioblastoma
• * Anaplastic astrocytoma
• * Gliosarcoma
• * Anaplastic oligodendroglioma
• * Anaplastic oligoastrocytoma
• Measurable or nonmeasurable disease
• No more than 5 weeks since prior brain surgery
• * Recovered from surgery, post- operative infection, and other complications
• Preoperatively and postoperatively diagnostic contrast-enhanced MRI or CT scan of the brain performed prior to radiation therapy
• * Patients diagnosed by stereotactic biopsy do not require the postoperative scan
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Karnofsky performance status ≥ 60%
• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm\^3
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm\^3
• Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Total bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL
• AST ≤ 4.0 times ULN
• No prolonged QT interval \> 460 milliseconds on baseline electrocardiogram in the presence of normal serum potassium and magnesium
• No uncontrolled electrolyte imbalance (i.e., sodium \< 132 mmol/L, potassium \< 3.5 mEq/dL, magnesium \< 1.7 mg/dL)
• No history of torsades de pointes type of ventricular arrhythmia
• Negative pregnancy test
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No medical or psychiatric illness that, in the investigator's opinion, could potentially preclude the completion of study therapy
• No HIV positivity
• No active connective tissue disorders (e.g., lupus or scleroderma) that, in the investigator's opinion, may put the patient at high risk for radiation toxicity
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• See Disease Characteristics
• No prior brain radiotherapy or chemotherapy for brain tumor
• Concurrent corticosteroids to control cerebral edema allowed provided dose is stable or decreasing for the past 5 days
• No concurrent or plan to receive drugs that are known to prolong the QT interval
• No prior radiation to the head or neck (except for T1 glottic cancer) resulting in overlap of radiation fields