The sensitivity of the -ITD detection method is an important consideration when diagnosing acute myeloid leukemia.

-internal tandem duplication (-ITD) is a key predictive factor for the prognosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We compared the detection sensitivity of fragment analysis with that of PCR-electrophoresis using MV4-11 (-ITD) and NKM-1 (-wild type) cell lines. DNA of these cells was mixed at different ratios and subjected to PCR-electrophoresis or fragment analysis. PCR-electrophoresis was found to have an -ITD allelic ratio (AR) detection limit of 0.034-0.072. Visual inspection of the PCR-electrophoresis revealed a lower detection sensitivity than that of fragment analysis. Therefore, it is essential to conduct fragment analysis when screening for -ITD.