Using polymerase chain reaction-based methylation analysis assay methods, with substantiation using Southern blot analysis, the study showed no hypermethylation of p15 or p16 genes in the chronic phase of AMM, but p15 gene hypermethylation was found in four patients (40%) and p16 gene hypermethylation in two patients (20%) when they were in leukaemic transformation stage.
A single patient found to have a shifted band by PCR-SSCP may be represented as a coincidence or as a polymorphism with a heterozygous carrier of mutated p16 gene, predisposable to AMM or as a mutant p16 gene which can be infrequently observed in this disease.