Temozolomide and Ascorbic Acid in Treating Patients With Recurrent High-Grade Glioma

Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients must have pathologically proven diagnosis of high grade glioma
* Patients must have received prior radiation therapy and standard temozolomide
* Patients must be three or more months from the end of chemoradiotherapy or have biopsy or imaging consistent with disease progression
* Patients must have recovered from toxicity of prior therapy
* Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0-2 or better
* Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) count \>= 1,500/mm\^3
* Hemoglobin \>= 8 g/dL
* Platelet count \>= 100,000/mm\^3
* Serum creatinine that is at or below 2.0 mg/dL
* Serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) less than 1.5 times the upper limits of normal; note: if hepatic function is abnormal, the decision to initiate temozolomide treatment should carefully consider the benefits and risks for the individual patient
* Serum alkaline phosphatase less than 2.5 times the upper limits of normal; note: if hepatic function is abnormal, the decision to initiate temozolomide treatment should carefully consider the benefits and risks for the individual patient
* The patient must be aware of the neoplastic nature of his/her disease and willingly provide written, informed consent after being informed of the procedure to be followed, the experimental nature of the therapy, alternatives, potential benefits, side-effects, risks, and discomforts
* Women of reproductive potential must be non-pregnant and non-nursing and must agree to employ an effective barrier method of birth control throughout the study and for up to 6 months following treatment
* Women of child-bearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test within 7 days of initiating study; (no childbearing potential is defined as age 55 years or older and no menses for two years or any age with surgical removal of the uterus and/or both ovaries)

Exclusion Criteria:

* History of uncontrollable allergic reactions to temozolomide or ascorbic acid or to antiemetics appropriate for administration in conjunction with protocol-directed chemotherapy
* Known human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positivity AND actively being treated with highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART)
* History of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency
* History of oxalate nephrolithiasis or urine oxalate \> 60 mg/dL
* Anuria, dehydration, severe pulmonary congestion or pulmonary edema or fixed low cardiac input since all are conditions for which osmotic diuresis are contraindicated and ascorbic acid has high osmolarity
* Any other clinically significant medical disease or condition laboratory abnormality or psychiatric illness that, in the Investigator's opinion, may interfere with protocol adherence or a subject's ability to give informed consent
* Patients who are on the following drugs and cannot have a drug substitution: flecainide, methadone, amphetamines, quinidine, and chlorpropamide; note: high dose ascorbic acid may affect urine acidification and, as a result, may affect clearance rates of these drugs
* Simultaneous participation in other therapeutic clinical trials will not be allowed
* Inability to co-operate with the requirements of the protocol
* Pregnant and nursing women are excluded from this study