Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically confirmed malignant recurrent glioma*, including any of the following:

- Glioblastoma

- Glioblastoma multiforme

- Recurrent disease or progressive primary disease

- Surgically accessible tumor for which surgical resection is indicated and has not
been previously irradiated

- Prior radiotherapy required

- No prior oncophage therapy or immunotherapy for glioma

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- Karnofsky performance status 80-100%

- Life expectancy ≥ 8 weeks

- Absolute granulocyte count ≥ 1,500/mm^3

- Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm^3

- Alkaline phosphatase and SGPT ≤ 2.5 times normal

- Bilirubin < 1.5 mg/dL

- BUN < 1.5 times normal OR creatinine < 1.5 times normal

- Not pregnant or nursing

- Negative pregnancy test

- Fertile patients must use effective barrier contraception during and for at least 4
weeks after completion of study treatment

- No uncontrolled active infection

- No bleeding diathesis

- No psychiatric or medical situation that would preclude study compliance

- No unstable or severe concurrent medical condition

- No other cancer or concurrent malignancy within the past 5 years except adequately
treated nonmetastatic in situ carcinoma of the uterine cervic, nonmetastatic
nonmelanoma skin cancer, or in complete remission and off all therapy for that
disease

- No systemic autoimmune disease (e.g., Hashimoto's thyroiditis) and/or any history of
primary or secondary immunodeficiency

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- See Disease Characteristics

- At least 2 weeks since prior vincristine

- At least 6 weeks since prior nitrosoureas

- At least 4 weeks since prior temozolomide or other cytotoxic chemotherapy

- At least 4 weeks since prior investigational agents

- At least 1 week since prior noncytotoxic agents

- At least 3 weeks since prior procarbazine

- No radiotherapy within the past 4 weeks