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
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.
A network of neurons
Finding
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.
Acute myeloid leukemia cells under a microscope
Announcement
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.
Representative image of a dividing tumor cell showing the extrachromosomal location of duplicated BRAF genes
In the Lab
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.