Degree Name

Department

Biology

College

Life Sciences

Defense Date

2024-06-10

Publication Date

2024-08-11

First Faculty Advisor

Samuel Payne

First Faculty Reader

Matthew Bailey

Honors Coordinator

Steven Peck

Keywords

tumor suppressor, RB1 mutation, glioblastoma multiforme, CPTAC, TP53, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes

Abstract

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is an incredibly invasive and particularly lethal central nervous system cancer. Recent work has shown that GBM patients with mutated RB1 have greater overall survival. A proposed mechanism for the improved prognosis of this molecular subgroup is mainly supported by previous research that is not specific to GBM. I utilize the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) dataset to interrogate this mechanism using GBM-specific data. The mechanism is largely not supported by the CPTAC GBM dataset, and the trend of significantly improved overall survival in RB1-mutant GBM patients is not validated here. This study highlights the need for additional experimentation and offers suggestions for future research.