Comparison and meta-analysis of microarray data: from the bench to the computer desk.

The upcoming availability of public microarray repositories and of large compendia of gene expression information opens up a new realm of possibilities for microarray data analysis. An essential challenge is the efficient integration of microarray data generated by different research groups on different array platforms. This review focuses on the problems associated with this integration, which are: (1) the efficient access to and exchange of microarray data; (2) the validation and comparison of data from different platforms (cDNA and short and long oligonucleotides); and (3) the integrated statistical analysis of multiple data sets.