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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377 News Items found
Dana Pe'er, Chair of the Computational and Systems Biology Program at the Sloan Kettering Institute
Year in Review: Top 10 MSK Cancer Science Breakthroughs of 2020

Take a look back at some of the biggest cancer science stories from this past year.
Regulatory proteins (gold balls) bind to enhancer regions (light blue) and promoter regions (pink) of DNA to form clusters that enable transcription (purple).
Going the Distance: How DNA Enhancers Communicate with Their Target Genes

Scientists at the Sloan Kettering Institute are learning how far-flung regions of genes connect to start the process of making proteins.
MSK medical oncologist Robert Motzer
“Deep Dive” into Biology of Kidney Tumors Identifies Markers of Response to Immunotherapy

A study of nearly 900 kidney cancer tumors has identified previously unknown biomarkers that correlate with better treatment responses to immunotherapy and targeted therapy.
Finding
Section of a lung cancer tumor in mice
A Never-Before-Seen Cell State May Explain Cancer’s Ability to Resist Drugs

Identified in mice, this unusual cell state emerges early during tumor evolution and gives tumors enormous malleability.
In the Lab
Adrienne Boire
Iron Fiends: Cancer Cells in Brain and Spinal Fluid Survive by Monopolizing a Nutrient

Researchers gain insight into leptomeningeal metastasis, a devastating complication of advanced cancer.
MSK physician-scientists Michael Glickman and Gil Redelman-Sidi
The ABCs of BCG: Oldest Approved Immunotherapy Gets New Explanation

BCG has been used to treat bladder cancer for more than 30 years. Scientists are still learning how it works.
In the Lab
An illustration of sugar being sprinkled on a cancer cell.
Just Add Sugar: How a Protein’s Small Change Leads to Big Trouble for Cells

A study from investigators in the Sloan Kettering Institute uncovers the details of how a key protein called GRP94 becomes disrupted, leading to cancer and other diseases.
In the Lab
Confocal microscopy image of a female fruit fly brain.
How Fruit Flies Know When They've Mated

Research from investigators at the Sloan Kettering Institute shows how a brain circuit controls mating behavior in fruit flies.
In the Lab
CT scan showing lymphoma in the abdomen between the liver and the gallbladder.
A Metabolic Enzyme Drives Lymphoma and Is a Potential Drug Target

New research from Sloan Kettering Institute investigators pinpoints altered cell metabolism as a cause of B cell lymphoma.
In the Lab
Fluorescent image of CAR T cells in mouse liver fibrosis
A New Target for CAR T Cells: Senescence-Related Diseases

From atherosclerosis and diabetes to liver fibrosis and osteoarthritis, senescent cells are at the root of many debilitating diseases. Scientists increasingly have them in the crosshairs.