Recent MSK Discoveries & Advances

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Recent MSK Discoveries & Advances

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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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375 News Items found
In the Clinic
Illustration of brain in green with pons area highlighted in orange.
Drug Delivery Approach Shows Promise for Treating a Deadly Brain Tumor in Children

A new drug delivery method could improve treatment of a lethal pediatric brain tumor called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.
Finding
Large cells filled with yellow-colored fat
Cancer Cells Eat Fat to Grow and Spread

Research conducted in zebrafish shows that melanoma cells have an affinity for fat, and that eating it makes them more aggressive.
Finding
Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of T lymphocyte cells (blue) attached to a red cancer cell.
Discovery of Unusual Cell Type Could Help Guide Immunotherapy

A newly identified group of immunosuppressive cells could provide insight into the effects of immunotherapy drugs.
Feature
Young girl wearing pink sits with her mother
Meet This Year's Stop & Shop Ambassadors for Pediatric Cancer Research

Meet the four young ambassadors featured in the annual Stop & Shop campaign to fundraise for the Department of Pediatrics at Memorial Sloan Kettering.
In the Lab
Blue cells containing small red and green dots on a black background
Scientists Pinpoint a New Cause of Resistance to EGFR-Targeting Drugs

Multiple copies of a gene called <em>YES1</em> appear to be responsible for certain precision drugs losing their effectiveness.
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.
Roundup
Crowded hall with ASCO signage
Highlights from ASCO 2018: Immunotherapy for Endometrial Cancer, Benefits of Exercise, and Promising New Targeted Drugs

Couldn't make it to the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting this year? Read this summary of some main takeaways.
Q&A
medical oncologist Larry Norton
Some Women with Early Breast Cancer May Not Need Chemotherapy, Study Says

The findings will change how women with intermediate-risk breast cancer are treated.
Finding
Zsofia Stadler presents at the ASCO meeting
Genomic Marker Is Associated with Lynch Syndrome, a Hereditary Cancer Condition, Across Many Different Cancers

Tumors with a biomarker called high microsatellite instability have been linked to inherited cancer mutations.
Finding
MSK Physician-in-Chief José Baselga presents at the ASCO meeting
Targeted Therapy Slows Growth of Most Common Type of Advanced Breast Cancer

A clinical trial provides evidence that blocking a protein called PI3K can be an effective treatment strategy for breast cancer.