Across the United States, more than 80 percent of people with cancer seek treatment for their disease at a local provider in their community. But the latest advances in care and research can take years to reach these hospitals. The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance aims to bridge this gap through dynamic collaboration that allows community providers to offer state-of-the-art cancer care. With more than 130 years of experience in treating cancer, MSK has a unique opportunity to share the knowledge and best practices we have pioneered. 

Since announcing the MSK Cancer Alliance in 2013, MSK and its Alliance members have found that these cooperative relationships help meet an urgent need for access to high-quality cancer care throughout the country, and positively impact the care of individual patients. Because the highest-quality cancer care cannot be achieved by adhering to practice recommendations alone, Alliance members further develop robust institutional clinical research programs, through which patients have access to cutting-edge clinical trials offering the newest therapeutic options. 

Amid a healthcare industry rife with branding and marketing partnerships, mergers, and licensing arrangements, the MSK Cancer Alliance is unique because its foundation is medicine and collaboration, both between MSK and individual Alliance members and among the Alliance members. Central to the success of the MSK Cancer Alliance is a mutual willingness for Alliance members and MSK to learn from one another. From the outset, there has existed a shared vision of these relationships as an ongoing endeavor tailored to meet the unique needs of each Alliance member and the communities they serve. The Alliance also gives MSK the opportunity to better understand from Alliance members how care is best delivered in the community setting.