New research from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) finds a way to package protein-degrading drugs called PROTACs into nanoparticles that target blood vessels within solid tumors; identifies genomic markers that predict whether precancerous blood conditions will turn into multiple myeloma; develops a data-driven approach that could catch lymphedema earlier; and shows that nurse-led palliative care delivered by phone could serve as a scalable model.
Using nanoparticles to deliver complex cancer drugs safely by targeting tumor blood vessels
Nearly 85% of proteins in humans are considered “undruggable” by standard chemical approaches. A research team led by Sloan Kettering Institute biomedical engineer Daniel Heller, PhD, collaborating with physician-scientist David Scheinberg, MD, PhD, has developed a novel approach to make a promising class of cancer protein-degrading drugs, called proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs), safer and more effective.
PROTACs are large and complex, which makes them hard to deliver to tumors and can lead to unwanted side effects. To address this, the researchers developed a way to package PROTACs into nanoparticles — tiny objects with diameters one ten-thousandth that of a human hair — that specifically target blood vessels within solid tumors. This helps deliver the PROTACs more effectively. The approach led to slower tumor growth and longer survival in mice.
The researchers also developed prediction algorithms to identify key molecular features that can predict with 96% accuracy whether a PROTAC can be formed into nanoparticles. The findings offer a powerful new strategy to deliver complex cancer drugs more effectively.
Read more in Science Advances.
DNA markers predict whether precancerous blood conditions may turn into multiple myeloma
A new MSK study is shining a light on factors that drive precancerous blood disorders to evolve into full-blown multiple myeloma. Characterized by abnormalities in blood plasma cells, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) can increase an individual’s lifetime risk of developing multiple myeloma. Not all individuals with MGUS or SMM require treatment, and doctors often rely on a “watch and wait” approach to monitor for telltale signs of worsening disease. In a recent advance, investigators identified DNA changes specific to individuals at high risk of multiple myeloma, offering a new approach to improve early detection.
MSK blood cancer experts Francesco Maura, MD, and Saad Z. Usmani, MD, MBA, the Mayo Clinic’s S. Vincent Rajkumar, MD, and collaborators from Moffitt Cancer Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the University of Milan analyzed DNA from more than 350 participants with MGUS or SMM to look for differences between groups with stable and progressing disease. The analysis revealed that 90% of participants with SMM and 40% of participants with MGUS had almost identical genomic markers to those with full-blown multiple myeloma, putting them at high risk of progression. Based on these results, the research team proposed a novel genomic classification system to differentiate those at high and low risk of progression. These insights, combined with current diagnostic models, may inform early intervention and treatment plans, potentially improving health outcomes. Read more in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Dr. Maura presented this work at the 2025 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting (ASH).
Data-driven approach could help catch lymphedema earlier
Lymphedema is a painful swelling that can develop after lymph nodes under the arm are removed during treatment for breast cancer. It can cause extreme discomfort and increases the risk of infection.
Now an MSK team overseen by physician-scientist Babak Mehrara, MD, has developed a new, data-driven threshold for identifying breast cancer-related lymphedema that may allow patients to be diagnosed and treated earlier.
By analyzing arm measurements before and after treatment in more than 850 patients, they identified a more accurate threshold for a clinically relevant change in arm volume — 7.5%.
When this new level was applied to patients after axillary surgery, it identified significantly more women with lymphedema who would have been missed using the standard threshold of 10%.
“Nearly all of these newly identified patients were already experiencing symptoms or managing swelling, suggesting that lymphedema may be a considerably larger and underrecognized problem than previously understood,” Dr. Mehrara says. “This data-driven approach offers a more sensitive and accurate way to diagnose lymphedema and has the potential to change clinical practice for breast cancer survivors worldwide.”
Read more in the Annals of Surgery.
Nurse-led palliative care delivered by phone could serve as a scalable model
Hospitals across the United States are facing a shortage of palliative care specialists to care for their growing population living with chronic or serious illnesses. Previous studies have shown that nurse-led palliative care delivered by phone helped patients effectively manage their symptoms from the comfort of their homes, reducing costly emergency department visits.
A new study by a team led by palliative care specialists at MSK and the NYU Grossman School of Medicine aimed to determine whether nurse-led palliative care delivered by phone would improve quality of life compared to in-person visits with a palliative medicine specialist, potentially offering a scalable solution to the provider shortage.
Corita Grudzen, MD, MSHS, and Keith Goldfeld, DrPH, MS, MPA, and their team recruited more than 1,200 trial participants with serious illnesses, such as advanced cancer or end-stage heart, lung, or kidney disease, who had recently visited an emergency department and needed follow-up care. The cohort was split into two groups: One received phone calls from a nurse trained in hospice and palliative care every one to two weeks, and the other group attended monthly in-person visits with a hospice and palliative medicine specialist.
After six months, researchers evaluated differences in quality of life, loneliness, number of emergency department visits and inpatient stays, and hospice use between the two groups. The results showed that patients cared for by nurses over the phone experienced no change in quality of life or other outcomes compared with those who saw their provider in person. The authors suggest this nurse-led model could serve as a scalable solution to the shortage of palliative medicine providers, though additional research and updated payment models are needed.
Read more in BMJ Medicine.