Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women. National cancer
institute of the US estimates that one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their
lifetime. Considering the devastating effects of the disease and the alarming numbers many scientists
and research groups have devoted their research to fight breast cancer. Several recommendations are to
be considered as preventing measures which include living a healthy lifestyle, regular physical activity,
weight control and smoking cessation. Early detection of the disease by annual and regular
mammography after the age of 40 is recommended by many healthcare institutions. This would help the
diagnosis of the disease at an earlier stage and the start of the treatment before it is spread to other parts
of the body. Current therapy for breast cancer includes surgical ablation, radiotherapy and
chemotherapy which is often associated with adverse effects and even may lead to a relapse of the
disease at a later stage. In order to achieve a long-lasting anticancer response with minimal adverse
effects, development of breast cancer vaccines is under investigation by many laboratories. The immune
system can be stimulated by a vaccine against breast cancer. This approach has attracted a great
enthusiasm in recent years. No breast cancer vaccines have been approved for clinical use today. One
breast cancer vaccine (NeuVax) has now completed clinical trial phase III and a few preventive and
therapeutic breast cancer vaccines are at different steps of development. We think that with the recent
advancements in immunotherapy, a breast cancer vaccine is not far from reach.
Direct incorporation of the NKT-cell activator α-galactosylceramide into a recombinant Listeria monocytogenes improves breast cancer vaccine efficacy
