Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically confirmed melanoma

- Metastatic disease

- Brain metastases, skin metastases, or soft tissue metastases of the head
and neck or the extremities

- Accessible lesion(s) for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT)

- No clear progression of disease at other sites than the ones intended for
treatment with surgery and/or BNCT

- Measurable disease by MRI within the past 4 weeks

- Lesion(s) ≥ 10 mm in diameter

- Indication for palliative radiotherapy that is intended to be delivered as BNCT

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

- 18 and over

Performance status

- Karnofsky 70-100%

Life expectancy

- Not specified

Hematopoietic

- Neutrophil count ≥ 2,000/mm^3

- Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm^3

- Hemoglobin ≥ 10 g/dL

Hepatic

- Bilirubin ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)*

- Transaminases ≤ 2.5 times ULN*

- Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2.5 times ULN* NOTE: *Unless due to reversible reaction to
antiseizure medication

Renal

- Creatinine ≤ 2.5 times ULN

- Blood urea nitrogen ≤ 2.5 times ULN

Cardiovascular

- No congestive heart failure

- No newly diagnosed or unstable angina pectoris

- No uncontrolled arrhythmias

- No uncontrolled conduction defects

- No recent coronary artery disease

- No other severe heart disease

Pulmonary

- No severe pulmonary disease, including severe obstructive or restrictive lung disease

Other

- No history of phenylketonuria

- No severe gastrointestinal disease

- No active peptic ulcer disease

- No uncontrolled endocrine disease

- No pre-existing serious mental or organic brain disease (e.g., epilepsy)

- No psychological, familial, sociological, or geographical condition that would
preclude study compliance

- Able to travel to the Netherlands via public transportation

- Not pregnant or nursing

- Negative pregnancy test

- Fertile patients must use effective contraception

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

- No concurrent immunologic or biologic therapy

- No concurrent colony-stimulating factors (e.g., epoetin alfa or filgrastim [G-CSF])

Chemotherapy

- No concurrent chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy

- No concurrent hormonal therapy

Radiotherapy

- No prior radiotherapy to site(s) proposed for study treatment

- No other concurrent radiotherapy

Surgery

- See Disease Characteristics

Other

- Recovered from all prior anti-tumor therapy (excluding alopecia and sensitive
peripheral neuropathy ≤ grade 2)

- No other concurrent anticancer therapy

- No other concurrent investigational drugs