Conventional biomarkers used in the treatment of breast cancer (BC) are not always useful and effective in predicting the disease’s prognosis, so there is the need to identify new biomarkers that can be easily detected by the new technique of liquid biopsy. It has long been known that cell-free DNA (CF-DNA) is potentially a promising diagnostic and prognostic marker in different type of tumors, even if its prognostic value in BC is still to prove. The aforementioned retrospective study, conducted by an Italian research group from Mandola (Forlì-Cesena), considered the prognostic role of CF-DNA quantity and the wild type condition of genes, HER2, MYC, BCAS1 and PI3KCA,frequently mutated in BC. Seventy-nine blood samples were collected before surgery removal on women at BC first diagnosis from 2001 to 2010. Twenty-one patients relapsed, while fifty-eight do not showed relapse signs. Control blood samples were collected from 10 healthy patients. All samples were analysed by Real Time PCR to assess CF-DNA quantity and the wild type condition of all aforementioned oncogenes. Except for MYC, BC patients showed median values of CF-DNA (ng) significantly higher compared to healthy controls, which had greater oncogenes detection in wild type condition and inferior apoptotic index.It has been observed, also, a difference with statistical significance for HER2. Therefore, the study suggests that CF-DNA, detected through the innovative technology of liquid biopsy, may have a great potential in clinical practice, following the demonstration of its clinical effectiveness and its usefulness through solid perspective studies.

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