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). Here, PTEN is linked to central nervous system cancer.