Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center — the world's oldest and largest private cancer center — has devoted more than a century to patient care and innovative research, making significant contributions to better understand, diagnose, and treat cancer. As one of the nation's premier cancer centers, Memorial Sloan-Kettering is one of only 40 institutions in the United States that have been designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers by the National Cancer Institute.
Origins
Founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital by a group that included John J. Astor and his wife, Charlotte, the first hospital was located on Manhattan's Upper West Side. In 1899, the name was changed to General Memorial Hospital for the Treatment of Cancer and Allied Diseases. The name was changed again in 1916 when the word “General” was dropped and the new name became Memorial Hospital for the Treatment of Cancer and Allied Diseases. In 1936, the hospital began a move to our present location on York Avenue, on land donated by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and the new Memorial Hospital opened in 1939. Between 1970 and 1973 a new hospital building was constructed, and this building stands on the site today.
In the 1940s, two former General Motors executives, Alfred P. Sloan and Charles F. Kettering, joined forces to establish the Sloan-Kettering Institute (SKI), which has since become one of the nation's leading biomedical research institutions. Built adjacent to Memorial Hospital, SKI was formally dedicated in 1948.
In 1960, a new corporate entity — Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center — was formed to coordinate and guide overall policy for Memorial Hospital and the Sloan-Kettering Institute; and in 1980 these three entities were unified into a single institution.
Today, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has more than 11,000 employees, including 804 hospital attendings and 142 Sloan-Kettering Institute members. In 2010, 24,346 patients were admitted to Memorial Hospital and a total of 515,835 outpatient visits were accommodated at our Manhattan and regional facilities.
Patient Care
Robert Wittes, Physician-in-Chief of Memorial Hospital
Experts at Memorial Sloan-Kettering have established standards of care and treatment protocols for each type and stage of cancer. Our physicians have an extraordinary depth and breadth of experience in diagnosing and treating all forms of the disease, from the most common to the very rare. Each year, they treat more than 400 different subtypes of cancer. This level of specialization can have an often dramatic effect on a patient's chances for a cure or control of their cancer.
Memorial Sloan-Kettering offers a full range of programs to help patients and families throughout all phases of treatment, including support groups, genetic counseling, help managing cancer pain and symptoms, rehabilitation, integrative medicine services, and assistance in navigating life after treatment. Our physicians and scientists have pioneered many novel therapeutic regimens that have made possible the remarkable progress in cancer. Our physicians are currently leading more than 550 clinical trials for pediatric and adult cancers.
Research
Thomas Kelly, Director of the Sloan-Kettering Institute
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has led the way in understanding cancer and in developing new ways to diagnose and treat it. Our investigators include 12 members of the National Academy of Sciences, seven Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigators, and one HHMI early career scientist.
The Sloan-Kettering Institute maintains one of the world's most dynamic programs of cancer research dedicated to understanding the biology of cancer through programs in cancer biology and genetics, cell biology, computational biology, developmental biology, immunology, molecular biology, molecular pharmacology and chemistry, and structural biology. The institute's research faculty includes more than 100 laboratory investigators.
Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Specialized Collaborative Research includes programs in brain tumors, cell engineering, comparative medicine and pathology, experimental therapeutics, health policy and outcomes, metastasis research, physical science oncology, stem cell biology, and the Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center. The Geoffrey Beene Center brings together researchers and physicians from the Cancer Biology and Genetics Program in the Sloan-Kettering Institute and the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program in Memorial Hospital.
Education and Training
Memorial Sloan-Kettering's training programs prepare the next generation of physicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals for leadership roles in the life sciences and medicine, especially as related to cancer. In 2010, we trained 1,625 residents and clinical fellows; 521 postdoctoral research fellows, research scholars, and research associates; 231 PhD candidates; 26 MD/PhD candidates; 105 nursing students; and 391 medical students.
The Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Memorial Sloan-Kettering was established in 2004. This novel program — which offers a PhD degree in cancer biology — trains gifted young laboratory scientists to work in research areas related to cancer and other human diseases.
Expansion
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has undergone a major expansion in the last decade, with new construction and renovations designed to meet the growing needs of both our patients and our scientific initiatives.
In 2010 we greatly expanded our capacity to help patients with cancer regain physical function and a sense of well-being with the opening of the new Outpatient Rehabilitation Center, located in close proximity to the Rockefeller Outpatient Pavilion on East 53rd Street. Also in 2010, a state-of-the-art treatment center opened within Memorial Hospital. This facility — in which multiple medical disciplines practice in close proximity to one another — houses the novel Center for Image-Guided Interventions, a suite of endoscopy rooms, and new operating rooms for the Surgical Day Hospital.
The year 2009 brought the opening in September of the new Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center and MSKCC Imaging Center. This 16-story facility, located within walking distance of Memorial Hospital, offers the most-advanced, comprehensive services for breast cancer patients, all under one roof, while also expanding services for the screening and diagnosis of many other types of cancer.
The Mortimer B. Zuckerman Research Center, which opened in 2006, is a leading-edge research facility that houses many cancer research programs in some 300,000 square feet of laboratory space. Also opened in 2006 was a new 72,000-square-foot surgical center that includes 21 state-of-the-art operating rooms, all of which are equipped for both minimally invasive and more-traditional open surgery.
In addition, we have developed community-based, state-of-the-art outpatient cancer treatment facilities that bring Memorial Sloan-Kettering's expert care closer to patients living throughout our geographic area. Our regional care network facilities provide a full range of services to our patients in New Jersey and Westchester County, and on Long Island. And chemotherapy treatments are offered in Brooklyn at our new Brooklyn Infusion Center, which opened in 2010.
Inter-Institutional Collaborations
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's inter-institutional collaborations include programs in education, basic research, and clinical research.
In graduate education, MSKCC collaborates with Cornell University, Weill Cornell Medical College, and The Rockefeller University to train students in the biomedical sciences, leading to PhD and MD/PhD degrees. These programs include Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, the Tri-Institutional PhD Program in Computational Biology and Medicine, the Tri-Institutional PhD Program in Chemical Biology, and the Tri-Institutional MD/PhD Program.
Research collaborations include the Tri-Institutional Stem Cell Initiative, funded by The Starr Foundation, in which Memorial Sloan-Kettering joined with Weill Cornell Medical College and The Rockefeller University to develop new resources and expertise in stem cell research; and the Starr Cancer Consortium, a collaboration with the Broad Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, The Rockefeller University, and Weill Cornell Medical College.
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