RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining radiation therapy with chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells.

PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of radiation therapy followed by bleomycin in treating adult patients who have newly diagnosed supratentorial glioblastoma multiforme.

OBJECTIVES:

• Determine the median survival time of patients with newly diagnosed supratentorial glioblastoma multiforme treated with radiotherapy followed by sustained release intratumoral bleomycin.
• Determine the feasibility of this regimen in these patients.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study.

Within 4 weeks after surgical resection, patients receive radiotherapy daily 5 days a week for 6 weeks.

Within 2-6 weeks after completion of radiotherapy or at disease progression during radiotherapy, patients undergo surgical implantation of a modified Ommaya reservoir within the central area of the tumor. Patients then receive sustained release bleomycin intratumorally via the reservoir once a week for up to 2 years in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Patients are followed every 3 months for 2 years, every 6 months for 2 years, and then annually thereafter.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 72 patients will be accrued for this study within 5 months.

• Biological: bleomycin sulfate
• Procedure: adjuvant therapy
• Procedure: conventional surgery
• Radiation: radiation therapy

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed supratentorial glioblastoma multiforme (with areas of necrosis) by surgical biopsy or excision within 4 weeks of study
• Tumor and/or any associated edema limited to one hemisphere and unifocal
• No gross invasion of a ventricular surface
• Tumor accessible
• No other astrocytoma
• No multifocal or recurrent malignant glioma
• No disease below the tentorium or beyond the cranial vault

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

• Adult

Performance status:

• Zubrod 0-1

Life expectancy:

• At least 8 weeks

Hematopoietic:

• Hemoglobin at least 10 g/dL (transfusion allowed)
• Absolute neutrophil count at least 1,500/mm^3
• Platelet count at least 100,000/mm^3

Hepatic:

• Bilirubin no greater than 2.0 mg/dL
• SGOT or SGPT no greater than 2 times normal

Renal:

• BUN no greater than 25 mg/dL
• Creatinine no greater than 1.5 mg/dL

Other:

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No hypersensitive or idiosyncratic reaction to bleomycin
• No other prior malignancies within the past 2 years except nonmelanomatous skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix or urinary bladder
• No other major medical illness or psychiatric impairment that would preclude study participation

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

• Not specified

Chemotherapy:

• No prior chemotherapy for glioblastoma multiforme
• No prior radiosensitizer for glioblastoma multiforme

Endocrine therapy:

• Not specified

Radiotherapy:

• No prior radiotherapy to the head or neck resulting in overlapping radiotherapy fields

Surgery:

• See Disease Characteristics
• Recovered from prior surgery