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
Nadeem Riaz and Timothy Chan
Finding
Gene Discovery Could Lead to More-Personalized Treatment with Immunotherapy

Researchers have found two gene mutations that many exceptional responders to ipilimumab have in common.
MSK Surgeon John Healey
Q&A
What’s New in Osteosarcoma and Other Bone Cancers

Learn more about how MSK is developing new treatments for osteosarcoma and other bone cancers.
Electronic microscope enlargement of macrophage cell (tinted green)
In the Lab
Origin Story: Finding on Macrophage Development Challenges Long-Held View

A surprising finding challenges long-held dogma about how certain immune cells develop into specialized types in diverse tissues.
Seven-day old mouse embryo
Snapshot
Picturing How Cells Communicate

Developmental biologists are studying mouse embryos under the microscope to understand how embryonic cells communicate with one another.
rod-shaped bacteria
Feature
Microorganisms in the Gut Can Affect Cancer Outcomes

Discover how microbiome research is revealing the role that bacteria play in cancer treatment.
MSK Surgeon Aimee Crago
In the Clinic
How Research Is Driving the Latest Treatments for Sarcoma

Surgeon and researcher Aimee Crago discusses the latest treatments for different types of soft tissue sarcoma, including liposarcoma and desmoid tumors.
Metastatic tumor in the lung, with different colors used to represent the cell nuclei, the blood vessels, and the P-selectin protein.
In the Lab
Hacking Metastasis: Nanotechnology Researchers Find New Way to Target Tumors

A protein in blood vessels that plays a role in cancer metastasis is a promising target for delivering cancer drugs to tumors using nanoparticles.
A doctor speaks with a patient who has advanced prostate cancer about inherited mutations.
In the Clinic
Study Suggests Men with Metastatic Prostate Cancer Should Be Tested for Inherited Mutations

Learn why a new finding suggests that men with advanced prostate cancer should be screened for gene mutations.
MSK physician Aimee Crago consults with two colleagues.
In the Clinic
New Targeted Drug Therapy for Advanced Sarcoma Extends Survival by Nearly a Year

Learn more about olaratumab, a promising drug that has been shown to extend survival for people with advanced soft tissue sarcoma — particularly leiomyosarcoma — by nearly a year in a phase II clinical trial.
DNA molecules wrapped around histones
Feature
The Future of Cancer Research: Five Reasons for Optimism

Discover some of the most exciting research that Memorial Sloan Kettering scientists are pursuing in the fight against cancer.