September 2006 Lately@MSKCC

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has opened a new state-of-the-art outpatient cancer treatment facility in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. The new 85,000-square-foot facility incorporates the latest concepts in therapeutic design and offers the most advanced cancer care services.

The Pituitary Tumor Center, which is the only center of its kind in the New York City area, was recently established to enable our experts to more closely collaborate in the treatment of patients with tumors of the pituitary gland and hypothalamus. One of the unique features of the Center is that a patient can see multiple doctors from the treatment team on the same day, saving time for out-of-town and local patients alike.

The representation of women on medical faculty is increasing from year to year, and this progress is particularly apparent at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The goal of the Women Faculty Affairs' Athena group -- one of several WFA initiatives -- is to provide women with mutual mentorship, support, and guidance.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center scientists led by cancer biologist Joan Massagué have discovered a new branch in the signaling network of a protein called transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-b).

Research by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center investigators suggests that patients taking imatinib (Gleevec®) to treat chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) or gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) may experience changes in bone metabolism. The results, published May 11 in the New England Journal of Medicine, indicate that imatinib, in addition to inhibiting proteins responsible for CML and GIST, blocks a receptor important to bone synthesis and remodeling. This is the first time such a side effect has been noted.

Our new Living Beyond Cancer section of the Web site includes a calendar with searchable listings of upcoming survivorship workshops, support groups, and events.