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
Gloved hand and magnifying glass on banded DNA sequences
Announcement
FDA Authorizes MSK-IMPACT Test for Analyzing Patient Tumors

The test, developed at MSK, looks for alterations in 468 genes that are seen in both common and rare cancers.
Prostate cancer cells, colored red in scanning electron micrograph (SEM).
Science Byte
PSMA: A New Target for Prostate Cancer Treatment

Researchers have discovered how a high level of the protein PSMA in cells helps fuel prostate cancer.
Former MSK president Paul Marks
Feature
The Man behind the Prize: How Paul Marks Shaped Modern Cancer Research

Recent advances in epigenetic and targeted therapies owe a lot to the foresight of former MSK President Paul Marks, who believed in the importance of basic research.
iron-filled macrophages from a breast cancer tumor
In the Lab
MSK-Developed Technology Provides a “Virtual Biopsy” of Immune Cells in Tumors

The noninvasive approach could help scientists track the movements of an important cell type that can influence the outcome of cancer treatment.
Stem cells induced to become cardiomyocytes
In the Lab
Stem Cell Research Probes Why a Breast Cancer Treatment Sometimes Damages the Heart

Investigators are looking at how and why the breast cancer drug trastuzumab sometimes causes long-lasting and potentially serious cardiac side effects.
A micrograph image of breast cancer cells.
In the Lab
Research Reveals How Sleeping Cancer Cells Wake Up

MSK investigators are studying how dormant cancer cells can become reactivated after remaining hidden in the body for years.
Image of DNA helix with sequence in the background
In the Clinic
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.
Petri dish with green mold on it
Science Byte
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.
Kenneth Offit and Vijai Joseph
Finding
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.
Pediatric oncologist Kevin Curran with CAR T patient Esmeralda Pineda
Announcement
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.