Targeted T cell immunotherapy triggering a cytotoxic T cell immune response against survivin as neoadjuvant therapy has the potential to reduce tumor recurrence and the metastatic spread after surgical excision of the primary breast tumor if the number of cells remaining after tumor debulking is low enough to allow a CTL attack that is sufficiently vigorous to blunt tumor-take and tumor growth rates. This evidence concerns the gene BIRC5 and breast neoplasm.