To validate these findings, a second, independent cohort was tested with these 36 primer sets [see Additional file 3], resulting in the identification of seven PTP genes (DUSP26, MTMR4, PTEN, PTPRM, PTPRN2, PTPRT and PTPRZ1) that consistently and significantly differed in expression between lower and high grade gliomas (Fig. 1c). This evidence concerns the gene PTPRT and central nervous system cancer.