• Enas H Mahmoud, Amal Fawzy, Omar K Ahmad, and Amr M Ali.
• Clinical and Chemical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt E-mail : Enashamdy2004@hotmail.com.
• Asian Pac. J. Cancer Prev. 2015 Jan 1; 16 (18): 8299-305.

BackgroundIn Egypt, breast cancer is estimated to be the most common cancer among females. It is also a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Use of circulating cell-free DNA (ccf-DNA) as non-invasive biomarkers is a promising tool for diagnosis and follow-up of breast cancer (BC) patients.ObjectiveTo assess the role of circulating cell free DNA (nuclear and mitochondrial) in diagnosing BC.Materials And MethodsMultiplex real time PCR was used to detect the level of ccf nuclear and mitochondrial DNA in the peripheral blood of 50 breast cancer patients together with 30 patients with benign lesions and 20 healthy controls. Laboratory investigations, histopathological staging and receptor studies were carried out for the cancer group. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to evaluate the performance of ccf-nDNA and mtDNA.ResultsThe levels of both nDNA and mtDNA in the cancer group were significantly higher in comparison to the benign and the healthy control group. There was a statistically significant association between nDNA and mtDNA levels and well established prognostic parameters; namely, histological grade, tumour stage, lymph node status andhormonal receptor status.ConclusionsOur data suggests that nuclear and mitochondrial ccf-DNA may be used as non-invasive biomarkers in BC.

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