The research activity focused on breast cancer spans from basic and translational research to clinical trials, epidemiology, clinical psychology, radiotherapy, surgery, and includes different areas and topics:

• Identification of the molecular bases of breast cancer occurrence, progression and response to therapy, including both tumor-intrinsic features and the relevance of tumor/microenvironment cross-talk, inflammation and immunity.
• Identification of biomarkers: of early diagnosis, including circulating markers as microRNAs; prognostic and predictive of responsiveness to different therapeutic treatments, from chemotherapy to targeted therapies.
• Evaluation of dietary habits and environmental factors in preventing and predicting breast cancer risk.
• In the Medical Oncology Department, several new drugs are under investigation, aimed towards a personalized medicine approach.
• In the Surgery Department, different approaches are under investigation to optimize the surgical intervention, both limiting the procedure invasiveness and preserving the effectiveness.

Different research groups are involved in these activities.