
Empowered Patient Podcast Turning Cold Tumors Hot to Effectively Treat Triple-Negative Breast Cancer with Dr. Jay Lalezari CytoDyn
Nov 14, 2025
Dr. Jay Lalezari, a physician and researcher with decades of experience in virology and the CEO of CytoDyn, discusses groundbreaking advancements in treating triple-negative breast cancer with leronlimab. He details how this monoclonal antibody can transform cold tumors into hot ones, enhancing the efficacy of immunotherapy. Jay shares impressive survival data, including a cohort of patients with significant long-term remission. He also explores potential applications in colorectal cancer and the interest of major pharmaceutical companies in these innovative treatments.
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Durable Remissions In Heavily Pretreated TNBC
- CytoDyn's retrospective TNBC data show five of 28 heavily pretreated patients alive five years later, three with no evidence of disease.
- Dr. Jay Lalezari calls these durable remissions potentially paradigm-shifting for solid tumor oncology.
CCR5 Shapes The Cold Tumor Microenvironment
- CCR5 organizes a suppressive tumor microenvironment by recruiting suppressor cells and promoting angiogenesis.
- Blocking CCR5 with leronlimab disrupts that environment and allows an immune response to emerge.
Leronlimab Can Induce PD-L1 And 'Heat' Tumors
- Leronlimab induced PD-L1 on circulating tumor cells in responders, converting cold tumors to hot over weeks.
- Those patients then received checkpoint inhibitors and showed sustained remissions.
