Microtubule-Targeted Agent BAL101553 and Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma

The following inclusion criteria were applied: * Patients must have had histologically-proven GBM * Patients must have recovered from the immediate post-operative period * Patients must have had tumor MGMT methylation status of unmethylated as determined by local pathologist using a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA)-approved diagnostic test; results of routinely-used methods for MGMT methylation testing (e.g. methylation-specific \[MS\]- polymerase chain reaction \[PCR\] or quantitative PCR) were acceptable * Patients must have been be able to undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain with gadolinium * Patients must not have received prior radiation therapy (RT), chemotherapy, immunotherapy or therapy with a biologic agent (including immunotoxins, immunoconjugates, antisense, peptide receptor antagonists, interferons, interleukins, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, lymphokine-activated killer cells, or gene therapy), or hormonal therapy for their brain tumor; glucocorticoid therapy is allowed * Patients must have had a tumor tissue form indicating availability of archived tissue from initial resection at diagnosis of GBM, completed and signed by a pathologist * Patients must have had a Karnofsky performance status \>= 60% (i.e. the patient must be able to care for himself/herself with occasional help from others) * Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1,500/micro liter (mcL) * Platelets \>= 100,000/mcL * Hemoglobin \>= 9 g/dL * Total bilirubin =\< 1.5 x instituti…