Table 2.

MAD of the computed mRNA proportions. Pooled mean absolute deviation (MAD) of the relative mRNA proportions across different chip evaluation methods, calculated with regard to the respective mean values. 'MAD all' refers to all seven methods: the four different normalizations of MAS-S, as well as RMA, MBEI, and MBEI-GP, whereas 'MAD MAS' only refers to the four different normalization methods of MAS-S. The additional application of stepwise local regression normalization is indicated by lr. The MAD refers to the proportions of Table 1 (given in percent).

patient	1	1'	1"	2	3	4	5	6
MAD all	15	5	9	4	9	7	6	7
MAD all lr	18	4	7	5	7	9	6	8
MAD MAS	7	1	2	4	3	3	4	6
MAD MAS lr	1	2	1	3	1	3	3	3