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 Lab
Fibrous extensions of a nerve cell (red) and an oligodendrocyte (green) growing on top of the nerve cell
Can Stem Cells Be Taught to Repair a Radiation-Damaged Brain?

In a recent study, Memorial Sloan Kettering scientists used stem-cell engineering to repair brain injuries in rats. The results raise hope for future therapies that could prevent or fix nerve damage in cancer patients who need brain radiation.
Q&A
Epigenetics
Setting Cancer Cells on the Right Path: A New Leukemia Drug Shows Growing Promise

An experimental drug for acute myelogenous leukemia might potentially help many more patients than previously thought by controlling epigenetic processes, according to a recent MSK study.
In the Clinic
New treatments developed at MSK focus on both common and rare cancers.
Report Highlights Advances Made at MSK That Are Changing Patients’ Lives

An annual report from an influential cancer group highlights three MSK studies that have advanced cancer research.
In the Lab
Neurons created from embryonic stem cells
Seeing the Light: How Engineered Nerve Cells Might Curb Parkinson’s Disease

A new tool called optogenetics is revealing clues about the function of a promising experimental therapy derived from stem cells.
In the Lab
Stained pathology slides of a patient’s tumor (right) and of an organoid made from that tumor (left).
Five Fascinating Approaches to Cancer Science

From tropical plants and 3-D snapshots of worms to tiny particles that light up tumors, here’s a glimpse at some of the fascinating work MSK researchers pursued in 2014 as part of our quest to advance cancer science.
In the Lab
Pictured: Viviane Tabar
Investigators Use Stem Cells to Study Rare Pediatric Brain Tumors

Investigators have created the first-ever genetically engineered model of cancer made from human embryonic stem cells in culture.
Finding
Michel Sadelain and Prasad Adusumilli
Immunotherapy Shows Promise for Treating Solid Tumors in the Chest

A study in mouse models suggests how modified T cells may be used to treat tumors in the area just outside the lungs.
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.
In the Lab
Pictured: William Lee, Chris Sander & Nils Weinhold
Beyond the Usual Suspects: Study of Noncoding DNA Reveals New Mutations Linked to Cancer

In a study of patient tumor samples, researchers have found common mutations in parts of the genome that control gene regulation.
In the Lab
Cancer biologist Andrea Ventura
Disorderly DNA: Researchers Simulate a Common Cause of Lung Cancer

MSK scientists have created a mouse model that replicates a subtype of non-small cell lung cancer caused by a chromosomal rearrangement.