Similarly, a longitudinal study involving 47 breast cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy showed that pre- and post-treatment tumors do not show significant shifts in genetic heterogeneity but do show strong phenotypic/epigenetic changes post treatment, marked by reduced numbers of cells exhibiting a differentiated phenotype (CD24+/CD44−) and increased numbers of cells displaying a mesenchymal or stem like phenotype (CD24−/CD44+) [60]. Here, CD44 is linked to breast carcinoma.