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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374 News Items found
In the Clinic
Image of DNA helix with sequence in the background
Genetic ‘Scars’ Provide Clues for Tailoring Cancer Treatment

For the first time, scientists have determined the extent of DNA repair deficiencies across cancer types. Learn what it means for patients.
Science Byte
Petri dish with green mold on it
Insight into How Lungs Repel Infection Could Guide Therapies for Transplant Patients

Learn how immune cells in the lungs trigger invasive fungal cells to self-destruct. The discovery could produce therapies to prevent infection in cancer patients.
Finding
Kenneth Offit and Vijai Joseph
Making an IMPACT: MSK’s Gene-Sequencing Test Reveals New Findings about Hereditary Cancer Risk

An analysis of germline DNA in people with advanced cancer finds that inherited mutations may be more common than expected in this group.
Announcement
Pediatric oncologist Kevin Curran with CAR T patient Esmeralda Pineda
FDA Approves First CAR T Cell Therapy for Leukemia

Children, teens, and young adults with leukemia that have stopped responding to chemotherapy are the first eligible to receive the new treatment.
Finding
A network of neurons
Is Neurodegenerative Disease a Kind of Cancer?

New findings from experiments done in mice suggest a surprising cause of common neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Announcement
Acute myeloid leukemia cells under a microscope
FDA Approves Enasidenib (Idhifa), a First-of-Its-Kind Drug, for Advanced Blood Cancer

A new treatment option for people with acute myeloid leukemia is available, and it works in an unconventional way.
In the Lab
Representative image of a dividing tumor cell showing the extrachromosomal location of duplicated BRAF genes
Giving Drugs Together — Rather than in Sequence — May Be Key to Halting Tumor Resistance

Scientists are learning how tumors develop resistance to drugs — and what can be done about it.
In the Lab
An organoid of a developing brain
Stem Cell Research Identifies Potential Drugs for Treating Zika Infection

Researchers from MSK and Weill Cornell have found that two compounds appear to fight off infection with the Zika virus.
In the Lab
A scientist looks at illustrations of chromosomes.
When Loss Is a Gain: New Tumor Suppressor Gene Identified in Follicular Lymphoma

The reason certain patients with follicular lymphoma do worse than others may come down to a missing gene.
In the Lab
Images from three different mice showing the effects of antibiotics and microbiome replacement
Bacteria versus Bacteria: Two Studies Uncover Species of Microbes That Protect against Infections in People with Cancer

Research recently published by MSK scientists suggests that the best way to fight dangerous bacteria may be with other bacteria.