However, further analysis revealed that the SLIT2 promoter methylation level in the CML-AP and CML-BC stages was markedly higher than that in the CML-CP stage (P = 0.014 and < 0.001, respectively, Fig. 1) and in controls (P = 0.022 and < 0.001, respectively, Fig. 1). The gene discussed is SLIT2; the disease is breast cancer.