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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378 News Items found
Computational biologist Barry Taylor
Finding
Whether a BRCA Mutation Leads to Cancer Depends on Context, Study Finds

Sometimes a BRCA mutation is just along for the ride, rather than driving a tumor’s development.
Old man lying in hospital bed being spoken to by nurse
Q&A
Keeping Patients out of the Hospital: MSK Geriatrics Specialist Explains the Keys to Caring for Older People with Cancer

An MSK geriatrician discusses the importance of helping older people with cancer manage their treatment and symptoms.
Molecular image with target symbol
In the Lab
Scientists Develop a Tool to Watch a Single Gene Being Transcribed in a Living Cell

A new imaging technology developed at MSK allows researchers to focus on genes as they are copied into messenger RNA.
cartoon of man hitting a snooze button
In the Lab
Drug That Hits CAR T Snooze Button Can Quiet a Cytokine Storm

An FDA-approved drug used to treat leukemia can serve as a temporary off switch for CAR T cells, MSK scientists have found.
Fluorescent red and green cells
In the Lab
Scientists Use CRISPR to Learn How Cells Make Decisions

The genome-editing technique uncovered several genes previously not known to influence embryonic development.
DNA winding around histones
In the Lab
Research Clarifies How IDH Mutations Cause Cancer

The MSK team’s goal was to get at the underlying defects in cells that these mutations cause.
MSK cancer researchers Elizabeth Adams, Charles Sawyers, and Rohit Bose
In the Lab
Researchers Unravel the Biology of a Distinct Prostate Cancer Subtype

Mutations in a gene called FOXA1 are responsible for a distinct class of prostate cancer tumors, MSK researchers have found.
An illustration of a samurai and a crab.
In the Lab
Ro Versus Musashi: How One Molecule Can Turn Cancer Cells Back to Normal

Researchers identify a compound that appears to eliminate tumor cells in a dish and in mice.
Immune cells surrounding a cancer cell
In the Lab
Checkpoint Challenge: When Releasing Immune Cell Brakes Is Not Enough to Stop Cancer

Scientists have learned that cutting a T cell’s brakes can have unexpected consequences.
Two clusters of colored blobs with a diagram in the middle
In the Lab
Computational “Hive Mind” Helps Scientists Solve an Enzyme’s Cryptic Movements

The breakthrough gives an unprecedented look at the varied and shifting poses of a protein in action.