5.2. The Relevance of Microarray Quality Control
DNA microarray technologies have had some problems regarding reproducibility and comparability between laboratories and across inter- and intra-platforms of gene expression measurements [124,125,126,127,128,129,130]. The MicroArray Quality Control (MAQC) project was initiated to address these concerns and showed intra-platform consistency across test sites as well as a high level of inter-platform concordance in terms of genes identified as differentially expressed by microarray methods. This study provides a resource that represents an important first step toward establishing a framework for the use of microarrays in clinical and regulatory settings [131,132]. International organizations such as External RNA Control Consortium [133], the Microarray Gene Expression Data Society [123], and the MAQC project are providing the microarray community with standardization of data reporting, common analysis tools, and useful controls that can help provide confidence in the consistency and reliability of these gene expression platforms [131].