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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379 News Items found
A yellow molecular model of the androgen receptor on brown background
In the Clinic
An Unlikely Treatment for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Prostate Cancer Drugs

Doctors are developing treatment strategies that target the androgen receptor, which is found in many triple-negative breast cancers.
abstract red and blue lines suggestive of metabolic pathways
In the Lab
Scientists Create First-of-Its-Kind Metabolic Road Map of Cancer

The online resource will serve as a benchmark for researchers studying metabolism and cancer.
Physician-scientist Ross Levine and research technician Aishwarya Krishnan speak in the lab
In the Clinic
MSK Opens New Clinic to Monitor People with a Genetic Risk for Developing Blood Cancer

MSK's new clinic will focus on clonal hematopoiesis, a condition related to aging that increases the risk of developing certain blood cancers.
A gray blob marked RAS linked to colorful rods marked ICMT
In the Lab
Deciphering How Membrane Enzymes Work, with a Little Help from Beetles

The atomic structure of an elusive type of membrane protein has finally been solved by scientists at the Sloan Kettering Institute.
Illustration of cells with blue nuclei that have green DNA bits floating in the cytoplasm
In the Lab
Escape Artists: Cancer Cells Mimic Immune Cell Activity to Spread

Researchers have discovered that cancer cells may hijack an immune response to spread from a primary tumor to distant organs.
Three-dimensional reconstruction of the blood vessels in a mouse thymus using light-sheet fluorescent microscopy
In the Lab
New Hope for Repairing a Damaged or Aging Immune System

Scientists have uncovered a molecule that, in mice, can promote the regeneration of the thymus, where T cells develop.
MP1104 binding to the kappa opioid receptor
Q&A
Building a Safer Opioid: MSK Research Seeks to Develop New Ways to Relieve Pain

Science could lead to a new type of opioid drug that blocks pain but has a lower potential for addiction or abuse.
cryo-EM picture of mTORC1
In the Lab
Scientists Unlock Structure of mTOR, a Key Cancer Cell Signaling Protein

Structural biologists in the Sloan Kettering Institute have used a powerful tool called cryo-EM to solve the structure of a major cancer player.
Gears with 2016 and 2017
In the News
Year in Review: The Science and Technology that Shaped Cancer Care in 2017

As 2017 draws to a close, take a look back at the scientific discoveries that deepened our understanding of cancer in the past year.
Sloan Kettering Institute Director Joan Massagué with laboratory member Karuna Ganesh
In the Lab
When Cancer Spreads: Research Focuses on Better Ways to Treat Metastasis

MSK investigators are learning how cancer cells escape from the original tumor and hide out in the body. Their goal is to prevent metastatic tumors from forming.