DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed diagnosis of 1 of the following malignant gliomas:

  • Anaplastic astrocytoma
  • Glioblastoma multiforme
  • Oligodendroglioma
  • Oligoastrocytoma
• WHO grade III or IV disease
• Newly diagnosed or recurrent disease
• Bidimensionally measurable disease by contrast-enhancing MRI
• Surgically accessible tumor for which resection is indicated
• Previously treated with or planning to undergo treatment with conventional external beam radiotherapy
• HLA-A*201 positive

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Karnofsky performance status 60-100%
• Life expectancy ≥ 8 weeks
• Hemoglobin ≥ 10 g/dL
• Absolute granulocyte count ≥ 1,500/mm³
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm³
• SGOT and SGPT ≤ 2 times normal
• Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2 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 contraception
• Hepatitis B negative
• Hepatitis C negative
• HIV negative
• Syphilis serology negative
• Afebrile
• No active infection
• No immunodeficiency

• No autoimmune disease that may be exacerbated by immunotherapy, including any of the following:

  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Systemic lupus erythematosus
  • Vasculitis
  • Polymyositis-dermatomyositis
  • Scleroderma
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Juvenile-onset insulin-dependent diabetes
• No allergy to study agents
• No underlying condition that would contraindicate study therapy
• No concurrent severe or unstable medical condition that would preclude giving informed consent
• No psychiatric condition that would preclude study participation or giving informed consent
• No other malignancy within the past 5 years except adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer, localized prostate cancer, or carcinoma in situ of the cervix

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas) and recovered
• At least 2 weeks since prior and no concurrent corticosteroids
• At least 2 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered
• More than 72 hours since prior systemic antibiotics
• No prior organ allograft
• No antihistamine therapy within 5 days before or after administration of study vaccine
• No chemotherapy during and for 4 weeks after administration of study vaccine
• No adjuvant therapy during and for 4 weeks after administration of study vaccine
• No other concurrent investigational agents