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DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically confirmed supratentorial glioblastoma multiforme No prior intracranial or intratumoral hemorrhage.PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: 18 and over Performance status: Karnofsky 60-100% Life expectancy: Greater than 2 months Hematopoietic: Absolute neutrophil count at least 1,500/mm3 Platelet count at least 100,000/mm3 Hemoglobin at least 9 g/dL No history of a bleeding disorder that would interfere with protocol therapy Hepatic: Bilirubin no greater than 1.5 mg/dL Transaminases no greater than 4 times upper limit of normal Renal: Creatinine no greater than 1.7 mg/dL Cardiovascular: No suspected disseminated intravascular coagulation No history of venous thrombosis requiring coumadin Other: No serious concurrent infection or other medical illness that would prevent compliance No other malignancy within the past 5 years except curatively treated basal cell skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix Not pregnant or nursing Negative pregnancy test Fertile patients must use effective contraception.PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Biologic therapy: No prior immunotherapy or biologic agents (e.g., immunotoxins, immunoconjugates, antisense, peptide receptor antagonists, interferons, interleukins, lymphokine activated killer cells, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, or gene therapy) for brain tumor Chemotherapy: No prior chemotherapy for brain tumor Endocrine therapy: No prior hormonal therapy for brain tumor Prior glucocorticoids allowed Maintenance 5 day stable corticosteroid regimen required postsurgery Radiotherapy: No prior radiotherapy for brain tumor Surgery: Prior surgery for brain tumor allowed if recovered from the immediate post operative period

OBJECTIVES:

• I. Assess the toxicity of suramin administered prior to and concurrent with radiotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed high grade glioblastoma multiforme.

• II. Evaluate this regimen in terms of survival in this patient population.

OUTLINE: Patients receive suramin IV over 2 hours for initial dose and over 1 hour for subsequent doses daily for 5 days on week 1. Patients receive concurrent radiotherapy daily with suramin IV over 1 hour twice weekly on weeks 2-7. Patients with stable or responsive disease receive a second course of suramin twice weekly on weeks 20-24. Treatment continues in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients are followed every 2 months until disease progression or start of new therapy and then monthly for survival. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 54 patients will be accrued for this study over 1.5 years.