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
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.
A microscopic view of genetically engineered mouse tumor and a human FL-HCC tumor
In the Lab
With Help of CRISPR, Scientists Unravel the Cause of a Rare Liver Cancer

A team led by MSK molecular biologist Scott Lowe is making progress against fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma.
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.