Brain and Central Nervous System Tumor clinical trials at UCSF

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as temozolomide, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving radiation therapy together with temozolomide may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known whether giving temozolomide during and/or after radiation therapy is more effective than radiation therapy alone in treating anaplastic glioma. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying giving temozolomide during and/or after radiation therapy to see how well it works compared to radiation therapy alone in treating patients with anaplastic glioma.