Why Haven’t We Cured Cancer Yet? | Dr. Bob Liu Explains

About this episode

Dr. Bob Liu discusses the complexities of cancer treatment and the challenges in finding a universal cure.

Why haven’t we cured cancer yet? A Genentech scientist explains the real reason. In this episode of BioTalk Unzipped, Gregory Austin and Dr. Chad Briscoe sit down with Dr. Bob Liu, Senior Principal Scientist at Genentech Roche, to unpack one of the most important and misunderstood questions in modern medicine. This is a rigorous, scientifically grounded conversation on cancer biology, immunotherapy, and the real constraints shaping oncology drug development today. Dr. Liu brings over a decade of experience across antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), bispecific antibodies, and CAR-T therapies, offering a rare, insider perspective on why a universal cure remains elusive and where meaningful progress is actually being made. Thanks to our Founding Sponsor: LEUCENTRA : Helping teams evaluate, implement, and get real value from IT solutions that support innovation, not slow it down. https://leucentra.com/ What You’ll Learn Why cancer is not one disease, but more than 200 biologically distinct conditions What “curing cancer” actually means in clinical oncology How immunotherapies like checkpoint inhibitors and CAR-T are changing outcomes The biological limits of eliminating every cancer…

People in this episode

Hosts: Gregory Austin, Dr. Chad Briscoe

Guest: Dr. Bob Liu

Topics covered

• cancer biology
• immunotherapy
• oncology drug development
• precision medicine
• early detection

Keywords

• cancer
• immunotherapy
• oncology
• biomarkers
• CAR-T therapies
• drug development
• early detection

Sponsors

LEUCENTRA

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Genentech, Roche

More episodes of BioTalk Unzipped

• The Future of Oncology Drug Development | Dr. Lakshmi Amaravadi · June 11, 2026 · 30 min
• Active Machine Learning for Drug Discovery & Nanomedicine with Dr. Daniel Reker · April 25, 2026 · 51 min
• The Intersection of Biotech, Patent Law, and AI with Dr. Kate Neville, IP Attorney · February 16, 2026 · 53 min
• Long-acting Cell-Based Gene Therapy, Fabry Disease and Beyond with Glafabra CEO, Dr. Chris Hopkins · December 22, 2025 · 49 min
• Fail Fast, Learn Faster: Drug Development in Rare Disease with Dr. Binodh DeSilva · October 23, 2025 · 31 min
• Unlocking Antibody Development with AI with Dr. Pin-Kuang Lai · September 12, 2025 · 18 min