Recent MSK Discoveries & Advances

Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers are relentlessly exploring every aspect of cancer — from basic investigations of cells and molecules to clinical trials of new treatments and population-wide studies of the disease. While our core mission is to translate this knowledge into new strategies to control cancer, many of our investigators are also making scientific progress against other diseases and conditions.

Below are some examples of discoveries and advances that recently were made in our laboratories and clinics, and featured in our news stories.

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401 News Items found
Detail of a researcher working in an MSK lab
MSK Research Highlights, October 22, 2026

New MSK research shows how genes activate across vast distances inside a cell; identifies a new form of cell death that could open new opportunities for cancer therapy; uncovers hidden genetics involved in autism; develops an AI tool that can predict a cell’s fate and help change it; and finds STAT3 acts as an inflammation-sensing switch in natural killer cells.
a doctor and patient review a scan
Insights About Cachexia, One of Cancer’s Most Common Complications, Hiding in Routine Patient Data

Wasting — called cachexia — affects about half of all cancer patients. An MSK analysis of clinical data from more than 60,000 cancer patients is shedding new light on the condition.
an MSK researcher looks through a microscope
MSK Research Highlights, October 9, 2026

New MSK research uncovers an unknown role for immune cells in fueling triple-negative breast cancer; identifies a new strategy for fighting leptomeningeal metastases; finds trastuzumab deruxtecan shows enhanced benefit for patients with ERBB2 mutations in breast cancer; shows tumor DNA insights can help guide treatment for patients with hard-to-treat biliary tract cancers; and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to study early development.
Zaza Gelashvili, Miklos Lengyel, Philipp Niethammer, Yanan Ma
Of Mice and Zebrafish: How MSK Scientists Solved a Decades-Old Mystery and Uncovered New Insights About Inflammation

A team of MSK researchers solved a decades-old scientific puzzle and revealed that a critical inflammatory signaling pathway doesn’t just summon immune cells to the place where they’re needed — it also protects healthy cells from being damaged by the immune response.
What Are Cancer Ecosystems? How Cancer Cells Hijack Their Surroundings

MSK research is revealing how cancer cells are active architects of their environment — remaking their cellular neighborhood in their own image — and these insights are helping to develop new ways to fight back.
scientific image of lung cancer
Using Nanoparticles To Target Fibrosis in Cancer and Other Diseases

Scientists at MSK have developed a new nanoparticle-based approach to breaking down fibrosis in cancer and other diseases, which could make immunotherapy more effective. Learn about their findings in laboratory models.
Agnel Sfeir
Scientists Uncover an Achilles’ Heel in Cancer’s ‘Rogue DNA’

MSK researchers have discovered that a type of rogue DNA found in aggressive cancers has a hidden structural weakness — and that blocking a single repair protein can cause it to fall apart, suggesting a new therapeutic opportunity.
An MSK researcher reviews images on a screen
MSK Research Highlights, September 14, 2026

New MSK research shows how a metabolite boosts immune cells against cancer; adds to the understanding of how colorectal cancer spreads; reveals tumor CD19 levels may predict the success of CAR T cell therapy; and finds a new targeted drug combination shows promise in early trial for small cell lung cancer.
Caleb Lareau
Using AI To Design Better Cancer Therapies

How MSK researchers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to design better "binders" for CAR T cell therapies.
MSK radiation oncologist Nancy Lee
In the Clinic
FDA Reviewing Low-Dose Radiation To Treat HPV Throat Cancer With Fewer Side Effects

Learn how HPV-related head and neck cancer can be treated with a sharply reduced radiation dose to prevent side effects, sometimes without surgery.