Recent MSK Discoveries & Advances

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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371 News Items found
A researcher working in an MSK lab
MSK Research Highlights, September 3, 2024

New MSK research uses cryo-electron microscopy to shed new light on the ubiquitin; could help predict the risk of blood clots in cancer patients; reveals why micronuclei burst, accelerating aggressive cancers; and surveys healthcare providers about the benefits and risks of commercial genetic testing.
An MSK scientists works in the lab
MSK Research Highlights, August 13, 2024

New MSK research found patients with non-small cell lung cancer brain metastases may benefit from up-front stereotactic radiosurgery; identified a connection between antibiotic use and autoimmune diseases; and uncovered a previously unknown structural role for messenger RNAs in the cytoplasm of cells.
A New Endpoint for Accelerated Approvals in Multiple Myeloma
A New Endpoint for Accelerated Approvals in Multiple Myeloma

MSK played a central role in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC)’s landmark decision in April 2024 to accept measurable residual disease (MRD) as an intermediate clinical endpoint for accelerated approval of new drugs and new indications in multiple myeloma clinical trials.
Detail shot of a scientist purifying proteins
MSK Research Highlights, July 31, 2024

New MSK research showed giving chemotherapy shortly after a stem cell or bone marrow transplant from a less than perfectly matched donor greatly reduces the chances that the patient will develop graft-versus-host disease (GVHD); and sheds new light on cell state changes in prostate cancer.
Andrea Schietinger
Better Together: Spatial Arrangement of Three Immune Cells Is Key to Attacking Tumors

In order for immune cells to effectively kill cancer cells, a triad of three cells are necessary — a dendritic cell, a cytotoxic “killer” T cell, and a helper T cell, researchers at MSK and Baylor College of Medicine have found. The discovery could alter the way doctors administer immunotherapies.
Ellen Horste
From Basic Science to Biotech: One MSK Alum’s Journey

Learn how GSK graduate Dr. Ellen Horste’s time investigating fundamental biological questions prepared her for a career in the emerging field of gene therapy.
Pancreatic cancer cells
MSK Discovery Suggests Opportunity to Improve Effectiveness of KRAS Inhibitors Against Pancreatic Cancer

MSK researchers have discovered a new mechanism of resistance to KRAS inhibitors that suggests an opportunity to make the treatment more effective.
detail shot of specimen slides
MSK Research Highlights, July 8, 2024

New MSK research developed a deep-learning model designed to aid challenging cancer diagnoses; identified key regulators of infection-clearing immune cells; and shed new light on the mechanical forces exerted by immune cells.
Feature
MSK melanoma expert James Smithy, MD
New Treatments Improving Prognosis for Stage 4 Melanoma Patients

Researchers at MSK have been at the forefront of developing new treatments for advanced melanoma for many years. Learn more about the latest therapies.
A researcher pipettes in the lab
MSK Research Highlights, June 25, 2024

New MSK research helped develop a machine-learning tool to help find cancer cells that remain after surgery; led to FDA approval for CAR T cell therapy against mantle cell lymphoma; tested a liquid biopsy approach that shows promise in detecting lung cancer; found checkpoint inhibitors were effective against endometrial and ovarian cancers with DNA-repair deficiency; and shed new light on mTOR's role in metabolic enzyme degradation.