Michael D. Kinnaman, MD

As a proud member of the MSK Kids Pediatric Sarcoma team, I see myself as the “quarterback” of a patient’s care experience. I form a treatment plan that is unique to the needs of each patient, with input and consensus drawn from our team of physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and support staff, who have unparalleled experience and clinical expertise in treating pediatric sarcomas.

I am passionate not only about working with children but also with adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients. AYA patients are often at a crossroads in life, and a cancer diagnosis can be a major disruption to their career and life plans. With our dedicated group of specialists in AYA patient care, we are committed to getting our patients through treatment and back to pursuing their hopes and dreams.

Although I treat many types of solid tumors at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), I am especially interested in the management of osteosarcoma or Ewing sarcoma that is either resistant to initial treatment or returns after a period of remission. Determining the next best option for a patient is a very individualized decision, impacted by the biology and genomics of their tumor, extent of their disease, past treatment history, and personal and family values. Helping families navigate these difficult decisions and providing recommendations and treatment options that take into account the many factors that make each patient unique is where we excel here at MSK Kids.

In addition to caring for patients, I conduct research focused on how cancer can change and adapt over time, moving beyond the original site of disease to other organs. My research specifically focuses on studying different types of pediatric sarcomas, with two active projects studying cancer evolution in both osteosarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma. My goal is to characterize the tumor cells that are resistant to our current therapy. To do so, my research team and I are using whole-genome sequencing, which allows us to map out the entire genetic code of a cancer cell, on patients’ tumor samples at different time points throughout treatment. We then compare the genetic makeup of each sample to the genetic makeup of the samples collected at an earlier time in a patient’s treatment plan to see how the tumor has changed. This allows us to not only identify the resistant tumor cells but also to characterize and describe their genetic makeup. We hope that this information will lead to new therapies and treatment strategies targeted at these resistant tumor cells, improving outcomes for our patients with pediatric sarcomas.