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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382 News Items found
Pictured: Structure of Synthesized Erythropoietin
In the Lab
Memorial Sloan Kettering Investigators Synthesize Vital Biological Molecule Erythropoietin for the First Time

Researchers have produced a fully synthetic, functional version of erythropoietin, the hormone that controls production of red blood cells.
Pictured: Tunneling Nanotubes
Snapshot
Tunneling Nanotubes Connect Cancer Cells

Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers have discovered a way that cancer cells may be able to exchange information by establishing long bridges between cells called tunneling nanotubes.
Pictured: Ross Levine
In the Lab
Researchers Discover Why Some Leukemia Drugs Are Not Sufficiently Effective

Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers have found why certain drugs are not sufficiently effective in treating leukemias called myeloproliferative neoplasms.
Pictured: Natural Killer Cells & Cancer Cell
In the Lab
Study Suggests Refined Donor Selection Could Improve Outcomes of Bone Marrow Transplantation in Leukemia

In the future, more-advanced genetic testing might offer better ways to match up patients who need a bone marrow transplant with potential donors.
Pictured: Filippo Giancotti
In the Lab
Researchers Shed Light on Why Some Breast Cancers Spread to the Lungs

A new Memorial Sloan Kettering study has identified one of the proteins fueling the spread of some breast cancers, and researchers hope their findings will lead to the development of new diagnostic tools and drugs.
Pictured: Joan Massagué
In the Lab
Study Links Cancer’s Ability to Spread with Chemotherapy Resistance

A team of investigators from Memorial Sloan Kettering has shown for the first time that tumor growth, metastasis, and chemotherapy resistance are connected to the same molecular changes inside breast cancer cells.
Pictured: Douglas Levine and Petar Jelinic
In the Lab
New Web Tool Helps Researchers Explore How the Genome Changes in Cancer

Memorial Sloan Kettering investigators hope their new web tool will improve the accessibility of large-scale genome-sequencing information for cancer researchers everywhere, and accelerate research and therapeutic discovery.
Pictured: T cells on surface on thymus
In the Lab
Study Points the Way for Future Therapy to Revive a Damaged Immune System

A recent study holds promise for the development of a new type of drug to alleviate immune deficiency caused by cancer treatment, radiation injury, or certain diseases.
Pictured: Timothy Chan
In the Lab
Studies Show How Certain Gene Mutations May Promote Cancer

Two Memorial Sloan Kettering studies provide new clues about genetic mutations that affect cell behavior and play a role in several types of cancer.
Pictured: Ion Channel K2P1
Q&A
3D Shape of an Ion Channel Revealed

Structural biologist Stephen Long talks about how his team used x-ray crystallography to discover the structure of an ion channel called K2P1.