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Figure 1. Histogram representation of patients enrolled in clinical trials assessing the role of CTCs and ctDNA detection in early breast cancer, grouped by year of publication of the results. Showing a relevant rise in the number of enrolled patients in the past 20 years, the chart highlights an increasing interest in liquid biopsy as a tool for the management of early breast cancer patients. CTCs studies have provided a substantial contribution, particularly in the last decade (from 2011 to 2020). A more recent increase in the number of patients enrolled in trials analyzing ctDNA (from 2016 to 2020) suggests a growing interest to investigate the role of ctDNA in this setting. CTCs: circulating tumor cells; ctDNA: circulating tumor DNA