Ritonavir and Lopinavir in Treating Patients With Progressive or Recurrent High-Grade Glioma

Inclusion Criteria

• •Histologically proven high grade glioma (WHO grade 3-4) which is progressive or recurrent following radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy
• •Patients with previous low grade glioma who progressed after radiotherapy and chemotherapy and are biopsied and found to have a high grade glioma are eligible
• •Patients must have recovered from toxicity of prior therapy - An interval of \>= 3 months must have elapsed since the completion of the most recent course of radiation therapy
• •Minimum interval since last drug therapy: 2 weeks since last non-cytotoxic therapy; 3 weeks must have elapsed since the completion of a non-nitrosourea containing chemotherapy regimen; 6 weeks since the completion of a nitrosourea containing chemotherapy regimen
• •Patients must have a Karnofsky performance status \>= 60% (i.e., must be able to care for himself/herself with the occasional help of others)
• •Patients must have normal hematologic, renal, and liver function (i.e., absolute neutrophil count \>= 1500/mm\^3, platelets \>= 100,000/mm\^3, HgB \> 9 d/dl, creatinine =\< 1.5mg/dl, total bilirubin =\< 1.5mg/dl, transaminases =\< 2.5 times the upper limits of the institutional norm)
• •Patients must be able to provide written informed consent
• •Patients with the potential for pregnancy or impregnating their partner must agree to follow acceptable birth control methods to avoid contraception - Female patients of child-bearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test
• •Patients must have no concurrent malignancy except curatively treated basal or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin of carcinoma in situ of the cervix and breast, adequately treated stage I or II cancer from which the patient is in complete remission
• •Patients with other prior malignancies must be disease-free for \>= 3 years
• •Patients must be maintained on a stable corticosteroid regimen from the time of their baseline scan until the start of treatment
• •Patients must have a Mini mental state exam score \>= 15