Michael F. Berger: Featured News

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In the Lab
Geneticist Michael Berger
How Do Inherited Gene Mutations Cause Cancer? A New Database Will Help Researchers Find Out
In a new paper, a collaborative team of MSK experts reports how a novel tool will help researchers learn more about the role of inherited hereditary mutations.
Feature
Group photo of researchers Michael Berger, Marc Ladanyi, Dana Tsui, Rose Brannon, Ryma Benayed, Ahmet Zehir, and David Klimstra.
How MSK-ACCESS Blood Test for Cancer was Created
MSK-ACCESS, a blood test that can detect mutations in 129 genes related to cancer, has already helped guide the treatment of more than 2,800 patients at MSK.
Finding
Illustration of a magnifying glass and DNA sequences
Machine Learning May Help Classify Cancers of Unknown Primary
MSK investigators report a new tool that may help them determine the origin of some metastatic tumors, potentially leading to better targeted treatments.
Finding
Computational biologist Barry Taylor
Whether a BRCA Mutation Leads to Cancer Depends on Context, Study Finds
Sometimes a BRCA mutation is just along for the ride, rather than driving a tumor’s development.
MSK-ACCESS Receives New York State Approval for New Molecular Assay
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) today announced that the New York State Department of Health has issued approval for a new molecular assay, Analysis of Circulating cfDNA to Evaluate Somatic Status (MSK-ACCESS).  MSK-ACCESS was developed within the Marie-Josee and Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology (CMO) and the test has been clinically validated and implemented by members of MSK’s Molecular Diagnostics Service.
Finding
Bioinformatician Ahmet Zehir stands at a whiteboard
Gene Mutations in the Blood Can Complicate Findings from Tumor Sequencing
A blood condition related to aging can lead to misinterpreting tumor data.
In the Clinic
Physician-scientist Ross Levine and research technician Aishwarya Krishnan speak in the lab
MSK Opens New Clinic to Monitor People with a Genetic Risk for Developing Blood Cancer
MSK's new clinic will focus on clonal hematopoiesis, a condition related to aging that increases the risk of developing certain blood cancers.
Announcement
Gloved hand and magnifying glass on banded DNA sequences
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.
MSK-IMPACT™ Is the First Tumor-Profiling Multiplex Panel Authorized by the FDA, Setting a New Pathway to Market for Future Oncopanels
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today the authorization of MSK-IMPACT™ (which stands for integrated mutation profiling of actionable cancer targets), a high throughput, targeted-DNA-sequencing panel for somatic mutations. Created by the Department of Pathology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), MSK-IMPACT is a 468-gene oncopanel intended to detect gene mutations and other critical genetic aberrations in both rare and common cancers.
Finding
Rack of blood vials
Secondary Leukemia: Research Suggests New Ways to Understand What Causes This Side Effect of Cancer Treatment
MSK investigators find that the presence of certain gene mutations in patients’ blood may mean they are more likely to get a secondary leukemia.
In the Lab
Test tube of blood with genetic code in the background
Reaching a Milestone: Researchers Report Results of First 10,000 Patients Analyzed by MSK-IMPACT
Researchers are reporting the first results from MSK’s genomic sequencing test, which analyzes patients’ tumors and helps match them to the best treatment.
Landmark Analysis from Memorial Sloan Kettering Reveals Genomic Tumor Sequence of More Than 10,000 Cancer Patients Using MSK-IMPACT™
Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) has reached a major milestone in bringing personalized treatments to more cancer patients. Michael Berger, PhD, Ahmet Zehir, PhD, and colleagues have reported an in-depth analysis of the first 10,336 patients whose tumors were submitted for clinical genomic sequencing by MSK-IMPACT™, a powerful diagnostic test developed at MSK to provide detailed genetic information about a patient’s cancer.
In the Clinic
Three scientists look up at ascreen showing genetic information about a tumor.
Powerful Tumor DNA Test Has Guided Cancer Treatment for 10,000 MSK Patients
Learn how MSK’s powerful new tumor DNA test has helped guide treatment decisions for more than 10,000 people with advanced cancer.
Decoder
Exceptional responders of new drugs in clinical trials.
What Are Exceptional Responders?
When a clinical trial of a new drug fails because most patients don’t respond, progress can still be made by analyzing the tumors of the rare patients who benefit.
Finding
MSK investigators Michael Berger and David Solit.
Study Reveals How Some Breast Cancers Become Resistant to Targeted Drugs
A study of one patient’s disease has clarified why tumors stop responding to a class of experimental drugs called PI3K inhibitors.
Profile
Pictured: David Solit
At Work: Physician-Scientist David Solit
David Solit, Director of the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology, discusses how working with cancer patients drives him to develop more-effective, personalized cancer treatments.
Announcement
Pictured: José Baselga, Agnès Viale,  Michael Berger & David Solit
Bold Initiative to Transform Cancer Care Established with a $100 Million Gift
With the creation of the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering sets out to deliver on the promise of personalized medicine by creating better treatment options for all people with cancer.
In the Lab
Pictured: Sarat Chandarlapaty
Researchers Identify Mutations that Cause Some Breast Cancers to Resist Treatment
Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers have found genetic mutations that cause some breast cancers to develop resistance to hormone therapy.
Feature
Pictured: Michael Berger & David Solit
Cancer Genomics: New Technologies Speed Discovery and Expand Opportunities for Personalized Medicine
At Memorial Sloan Kettering, new technologies to study gene changes in cancer cells are accelerating the development and implementation of more-effective treatments.