Aminolevulinic Acid in Visualizing a Tumor During Surgery in Patients With Glioblastoma Multiforme

The purpose of this study is to investigate the safety and performance of an investigational agent, known as 5-ALA or Gliolan (aminolevulinic acid), that many be useful to a surgeon for visualizing a tumor during surgery. It is also being studied to determine if there are differences in what Gliolan shows a surgeon compared to intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Determine the volume of residual enhancing tumor after a 5-ALA guided resection of a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

II. Determine the volume of tissue removed compared to the measured enhancing tumor evaluated on a pre-operative MRI.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Evaluate the time to tumor progression. II. Evaluate the overall survival.

OUTLINE:

Patients receive aminolevulinic acid orally (PO) 2-4 hours before surgery.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up for 2 weeks.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients must have a suspected or biopsy proven newly diagnosed GBM, or a recurrent GBM or suspected GBM (in patient with pathologically diagnosed prior World Health Organization \[WHO\] grade II or III tumor) in a patient undergoing a clinically-indicated surgery.
* Age \>= 18 years of age.
* Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status =\< 2 (Karnofsky \>= 60%)
* Life expectancy is not a consideration for protocol entry
* Patients must have normal organ and marrow function as defined below:
* Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1,500/uL
* Platelets \>= 100,000/uL
* Total bilirubin within normal institutional limits
* Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase \[SGOT\])/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamic pyruvate transaminase \[SGPT\]) =\< 2.5 x institutional upper limit of normal
* Creatinine within normal institutional limits; OR
* Creatinine clearance \>= 60 mL/min/1.73 m\^2 for patients with creatinine levels above institutional normal
* Women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation; should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately
* Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document or have a parent or guardian with the ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

* Prior therapy is not an exclusion criterion
* Patients may not be receiving any other investigational agents
* History of allergic reactions attributed to aminolevulinic acid (ALA)
* Current treatment with hypericin (or an extract) or other photosensitizing agents
* Personal or immediate family (parents, siblings, children) history of porphyrias
* Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
* Pregnant women are excluded from this study; breastfeeding should be discontinued if the mother is treated with ALA