Changes in subpopulations defined by the CD44+/CD24−/low phenotype in a panel of 6 breast cancer cell lines harvested from surgical wound fluid 10% conditioned media depending on the molecular subtypes. RT-WF in basal-like BT-549 and MDA-MB-468 cell lines decreased the CD44+/CD24−/low populations, whereas in the luminal type MCF7 cell line, the two fluids each inhibited these populations. HER-OE subtypes harboured minimal CD44+/CD24−/low populations, but the SK-BR-3 cell line exhibited stimulated growth by use of each post-operative fluid. Columns represent the mean of 6–8 randomly selected WF and RT-WF. The control was harvested from medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum only. Bars represent the standard deviation. Statistical analyses were conducted using Student's t-test. *P≤0.05. WF, wound fluids from surgery only; RT-WF, intraoperative radiotherapy wound fluids; HER2-OE, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-overexpressing; CD, cluster of differentiation; ctr, control.