CTSL and glioblastoma: As shown in the Fig. 2B–J, patients with high expression of ADAMTS-like 4 (ADAMTSL4), collagen type VI alpha 1 chain (COL6A1), cathepsin L (CTSL), cytohesin 4 (CYTH4), EGF like, fibronectin type III and laminin G domains (EGFLAM), leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor B2 (LILRB2), myelin protein zero like 2 (MPZL2), serum amyloid A2 (SAA2), and lymphocyte specific protein 1 (LSP1) in GBM had significantly poor OS and RFS (Additional file 1: Figure S1).