Effect of normalization methods on biomarker identification utilizing mass spectrometry.

In biomarker identification using mass spectrometry, normalization makes it possible to compare mass spectra obtained from different samples. However, the relative influence of different normalization methods is an unexplored topic. In this study, we compared the most widely used normalization methods in a systemic manner to investigate impact of normalization. According to our experimental results, different normalization methods result in the selection of different features of different discriminatory power.