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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385 News Items found
MSK radiation oncologist Nancy Lee
In the Clinic
Low-Dose Radiation Successfully Treats 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.
An MSK researcher at work in the lab
MSK Research Highlights, May 26, 2026

New MSK research provides structural insights into how cancer cells thwart targeted RAS therapies; uncovers promising combination therapies for a rare childhood brain tumor; uses organoids to provide important clues about what drives pancreatic cancer; takes aim at appendix cancer with new laboratory models; and a develops a new precision tool for targeting cancer's energy factory.
micrograph of a T cell
Successfully Treated AML Patients May Hold the Key to New CAR T Cell Therapy

A team of researchers from MSK has developed a new type of CAR T cell therapy that shows promise against acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in preclinical models.
Caleb Lareau
Dr. Caleb Lareau Awarded 2026 Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize

MSK's Dr. Caleb Lareau was awarded a 2026 Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize, which is designed to empower early-career investigators to pursue bold, high-impact projects.
A researcher working in an MSK lab
MSK Research Highlights, April 27, 2026

New MSK research shows how pancreatic cancer cells organize themselves to fuel tumor growth; finds an antibody-drug conjugate shows efficacy in rare pediatric sarcoma; develops an AI tool could accelerate identification of disease-causing genetic variants; and builds quantum nanosensors for cancer blood tests.
a lab coat hangs in an MSK lab
Drs. Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis and Robert Farese Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Drs. Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis and Robert Farese were elected to the 2026 class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
colorful microscope image of cancer cells
Catching Cancer’s Earliest Moments: How Mutated Cells Transform Their Local Environment So a Tumor Can Develop

MSK scientists are shedding new light on a tumor’s earliest moments — revealing how lung cells with cancer-causing mutations recruit accomplices from healthy surrounding tissue to pave the way for a tumor to develop.
MSK physician-scientist Vinod Balachandran.
Investigational Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine Shows Lasting Results in Early Trial, Supporting Continued Testing

Learn how MSK researchers are deploying mRNA vaccines against pancreatic cancer.
Scott Lowe and Dana Pe'er
From Benign Growth to Pancreatic Cancer: New Study Shows How the Switch Gets Flipped

An MSK study reveals new details about how pancreatic cells carrying oncogenic mutations transition from benign to malignant — shining new light on the ecosystem that supports emerging tumors.
Scott Lowe
Cell Surface Protein uPAR May Hold the Key to Targeting Solid Tumors with CAR T Cell Therapy

MSK researchers and collaborators have developed a new type of CAR T cell designed to attack a cell surface protein called uPAR — allowing them to target both tumors and cancer-supporting cells in the tumor microenvironment.