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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379 News Items found
Pictured: Scott Lowe
In the Lab
Researchers Uncover Potential Target for “Undruggable” Form of Liver Cancer

In taking a new approach to finding treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma, MSK scientists have uncovered a potential drug target for this highly aggressive cancer.
Pictured: Experimental Brain Tumor
In the Lab
Genetic “Kill Switch” Could Make Cell Therapies Safer

Researchers have engineered a gene into therapeutic cells that allows them to turn off tumor growth if some of the cells become cancerous.
Stained pathology slides of a patient’s tumor (right) and of an organoid made from that tumor (left).
In the Lab
Prostate Cancer Organoids Provide New Tool for Evaluating Therapies

Researchers have created tiny structures called organoids from patients’ prostate tumors. These organoids will allow the study of tumors in greater detail and enable correlation of genetic mutations with drug response.
Pictured: Johanna Joyce
In the Lab
Researchers Find Clues to How Breast Cancer Can Infiltrate the Brain

A new study sheds light on what enables breast cancer cells to spread to the brain and presents a potential target for drugs.
Lab mouse with cultured human pluripotent stem cells
In the Lab
A New Mouse? Genetically Pliable Stem Cells Could Advance Research on Many Diseases

Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers have developed a powerful new way to study human disease using stem cells whose genomes can be manipulated at will.
An origami crane illustrates the importance of RNA folding for regulating gene translation. The bolded sequences on the crane’s wings indicate the portion that is critical for the manufacture of many cancer-causing proteins.
In the Lab
Compound from Tropical Plant Targets Key Cancer-Causing Genes

Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers have found a naturally occurring compound that can destroy cancer cells in mice by targeting <em>MYC</em>, a cancer-causing gene that has remained elusive until now.
Pictured: Gabriela Chiosis
Finding
Hsp90: A Very Promising Target for Cancer Therapy

A small molecule discovered at MSK called PU-H71 blocks the growth of cancer cells and enables doctors to image tumors.
Pictured: Gum ball machines
Decoder
What Is Tumor Heterogeneity?

Understanding tumor heterogeneity may be the next big quest in cancer science, as differences between cells within a tumor can have important consequences for how cancers are diagnosed and treated.
Pictured: Serge Lyashchenko
In the Clinic
How Our New Particle Accelerator Will Make Cancer Imaging and Treatment More Precise

The launch of a 20-ton instrument and a facility for producing radioactive imaging molecules will allow our doctors and scientists to monitor cancers in unparalleled detail.
Pictured: Activated macrophage
In the Lab
Researchers Reveal How Tumors Manipulate Certain Immune Cells to Their Own Advantage

Researchers are exploring a mysterious population of immune cells that live within tumors and can help the cancer grow and spread.