VNP40101M in Treating Young Patients With Recurrent, Progressive, or Refractory Primary Brain Tumors

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically confirmed\* primary brain tumor, including benign brain tumors (e.g., low-grade glioma)

  * Recurrent or progressive disease OR refractory to standard therapy NOTE: \*Patients with intrinsic brain stem or diffuse optic pathway tumors do not require histological confirmation, but must have clinical and/or radiographic evidence of disease progression
* No bone marrow disease

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

* 21 and under

Performance status

* Karnofsky 50-100% (for patients \> 16 years of age) OR
* Lansky 50-100% (for patients ≤ 16 years of age)

Life expectancy

* Not specified

Hematopoietic

* Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,000/mm\^3\*
* Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm\^3\*
* Hemoglobin ≥ 8 g/dL\* NOTE: \*Unsupported

Hepatic

* Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
* ALT and AST ≤ 2.5 times ULN
* No overt hepatic disease

Renal

* BUN \< 25 mg/dL
* Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times ULN for age OR
* Glomerular filtration rate \> 70 mL/min
* No overt renal disease

Cardiovascular

* Shortening fraction ≥ 30% by echocardiogram OR
* Ejection fraction ≥ 50% by gated radionucleotide study
* No clinically significant cardiac arrhythmia by EKG
* No overt cardiac disease

Pulmonary

* DLCO ≥ 60% of predicted
* Chest X-ray normal (defined as absence of pulmonary infiltrates, pneumonitis, pleural effusion, pulmonary hemorrhage, or fibrosis) AND a resting pulse oximetry reading of \> 94% in room air (for patients who cannot perform the DLCO)
* No overt pulmonary disease

Other

* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* Neurologic deficits allowed provided there has been no deficit progression for ≥ 1 week before study entry
* No uncontrolled infection
* No known hypersensitivity to polyethylene glycol

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

* At least 6 months since prior allogeneic bone marrow or stem cell transplantation
* At least 3 months since prior autologous bone marrow or stem cell transplantation
* More than 1 week since prior colony-stimulating factors (e.g., filgrastim \[G-CSF\], sargramostim \[GM-CSF\], or epoetin alfa)
* At least 3 weeks since prior myelosuppressive anticancer biologic therapy
* No concurrent routine colony-stimulating factors

Chemotherapy

* At least 3 weeks since prior myelosuppressive anticancer chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin) and recovered

Endocrine therapy

* Concurrent corticosteroids allowed provided dose is stable or decreasing for ≥ 1 week before study entry

Radiotherapy

* At least 3 months since prior craniospinal irradiation ≥ 18 Gy
* At least 2 weeks since prior focal irradiation to the primary tumor and/or symptomatic metastatic sites

Surgery

* Not specified

Other

* At least 7 days since prior nonmyelosuppressive anticancer therapy
* At least 7 days since prior investigational agents
* Concurrent enzyme-inducing anticonvulsant drugs allowed
* No other concurrent anticancer or experimental agents or therapies