Statistical Analysis of Quantitative RT-PCR Results

Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) represents a benchmark technology in the detection and quantification of mRNA. Yet, accurate results cannot be realized without proper statistical analysis of RT-PCR data. Here, we examine some of the issues concerning RT-PCR experiments that would benefit from rigorous statistical treatment, including normalization, quantification, efficiency estimation, and sample size calculations. Examples are used to illustrate the methods.