How Cancer Uses an “Invisibility Cloak” - And How Kazia Therapeutics Is Trying to Remove It

We all know that cancer is caused by the rapid growth of tumor cells - but the ability for cancer to hide from the immune system is also a big challenge that scientists face when designing new therapies.
In this episode of Rx for Biotech, host Chris Leidli speaks with John Friend, MD, CEO of Kazia Therapeutics, about a new approach to some of the most difficult-to-treat cancers, including glioblastoma, pediatric brain tumors, brain metastases, and triple-negative breast cancer.
Dr. Friend uses a powerful metaphor throughout the conversation: many tumors develop something like an “invisibility cloak.” They adapt, resist treatment, avoid immune detection, and become harder for standard therapies to eliminate.
Kazia Therapeutics is working to change that.
The conversation centers on paxalisib, Kazia’s investigational brain-penetrant therapy designed to inhibit both PI3K and mTOR, two important cancer growth and survival pathways. John explains the PI3K pathway using a simple analogy: in cancer, this pathway can act like an accelerator stuck in the “on” position. By targeting PI3K and mTOR together, paxalisib is designed not only to take the foot off the accelerator, but also to apply the brakes.
A major focus of the episode is glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat brain cancers. John explains why glioblastoma has been so challenging for drug development, including tumor complexity, resistance, and the difficulty of getting drugs across the blood-brain barrier. Paxalisib was specifically designed to cross the blood-brain barrier—an essential feature for any therapy being developed for brain tumors.
John also discusses Kazia’s expanding work in triple-negative breast cancer, where the company is studying paxalisib as an add-on to standard-of-care treatment with pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy.
The goal is not simply to kill tumor cells directly, but to potentially reprogram resistant cancer cells, reduce circulating tumor cells, and make tumors more vulnerable to existing therapies and immune attack.
In this episode, we discuss:
• Why glioblastoma remains one of the hardest cancers to treat
• What makes the blood-brain barrier such a major challenge in brain cancer drug development
• How paxalisib was designed to cross the blood-brain barrier
• Why the PI3K/mTOR pathway matters in cancer growth and resistance
• The “accelerator and brake” analogy for PI3K and mTOR inhibition
• Why Kazia is studying paxalisib in glioblastoma, pediatric brain tumors, brain metastases, and breast cancer
• What makes triple-negative breast cancer so difficult to treat
• How tumors can evade treatment through an “invisibility cloak”
• Why combination therapy is increasingly important in oncology
• How paxalisib may help reprogram resistant cancer cells
• Early signals from Kazia’s triple-negative breast cancer work
• Kazia’s emerging pipeline, including cancer-specific PD-L1 protein degradation
• Why future cancer therapy may depend on making tumors visible again
• Upcoming clinical and corporate milestones for Kazia Therapeutics
This conversation is especially relevant for patients, caregivers, clinicians, researchers, biotech investors, and anyone interested in the future of brain cancer treatment, glioblastoma research, triple-negative breast cancer, targeted oncology, immunotherapy resistance, and precision medicine.
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This episode is for educational purposes only and should not be interpreted as medical advice. Investigational therapies discussed in this conversation have not necessarily been established as safe or effective by regulatory authorities.