Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) is a leading institution dedicated to cancer care and research, originating from the New York Cancer Hospital established in 1887. Located primarily in New York and New Jersey, with an additional center in India, MSKCC is renowned for its comprehensive oncology services that span various cancer specialties. The center was formed in 1980 from a merger between Memorial Hospital and the Sloan-Kettering Institute, the latter founded by notable philanthropists John D. Rockefeller, Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., and Charles Franklin Kettering.
MSKCC is recognized for its innovative approaches to treatment, including advanced imaging techniques and targeted therapies. Additionally, it emphasizes genetic counseling and survivor support, providing ongoing resources for patients recovering from cancer. The center also plays a significant role in cancer research and education, offering training opportunities for healthcare professionals and conducting clinical trials that influence global oncology practices. Its outreach initiatives include free cancer screenings and educational programs aimed at underserved communities. Overall, MSKCC combines patient care, research, and education to enhance the understanding and treatment of cancer.
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Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
ALSO KNOWN AS: New York Cancer Hospital, Memorial Hospital for the Treatment of Cancer and Allied Diseases, MSKCC
DEFINITION: The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), developed from the initial US cancer hospital, provides comprehensive oncology treatment and research. More than thirty MSKCC campuses are located in New York and New Jersey and one center in India.
History: The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center originated as the New York Cancer Hospital in Manhattan. In 1880, physician J. Marion Sims demanded the establishment of a local cancer hospital after Women’s Hospital administrators prevented him from admitting cancer patients. Philanthropists funded a medical facility specifically for cancer, which started treating patients in 1887. Twelve years later, that facility was renamed General Memorial Hospital for the Treatment of Cancer and Allied Diseases.
In 1936, John D. Rockefeller gave land for the construction of a new Memorial Hospital. Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., and Charles Franklin Kettering financed the Sloan-Kettering Institute (SKI) to conduct medical research next to that hospital. In 1980, SKI and Memorial Hospital joined to form the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, which offered pioneering US oncology facilities and services and diagnostic centers specifically for breast and prostate cancers. Donors financed additional construction, such as the Rockefeller Research Laboratories.
Services and procedures performed: Diverse cancer specialties are practiced at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and innovative procedures and technology developed by its experts benefit patients. Its radiologists evaluate malignant tumors with computed tomography (CT) scanning or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine their three-dimensional shape so that intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) can target tumors directly without damaging other organs. The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center operates affiliated outpatient clinics in New York and New Jersey. In the early 2010s, the center’s staff developed the Symptom Tracking and Reporting (STAR) website for patients outside the office to alert physicians regarding symptoms and side effects.
The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center offers the Clinical Genetics Service, which evaluates people’s hereditary risks for specific cancers. The center’s counselors provide individual discussion and support groups. Survivor services for adults and children encourage patients’ continued contact during to monitor their cancer-free status.
The Gene Editing and Screening Core (GES Core) offers information, tools, and resources concerning RNA Interference (RNAi) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9-mediated gene editing. Similarly, the Molecular Microbiology Facility (MMF) provides researchers with access to modern sequencing platforms to analyze clinical samples. The SKI Stem Cell Research Core is an important part of the research cooperation between Rockefeller University and Weill-Cornell as part of the Starr Foundation-funded Tri-Institutional Stem Cell Initiative.
Education: In addition to providing cancer education services for patients and the community, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center promotes advanced oncology educational opportunities for scientists, physicians, and other medical professionals. Postdoctoral fellows conduct research in its laboratories. Clinical fellowships enable physicians to interact with patients in various departments within the center. The center created the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., Sloan-Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Services for students to earn doctorates specializing in biological aspects of cancer. This program educates scientists to envision how their research might aid patients.
Other Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center educational resources include publications such as the Sloan-Kettering Institute cancer series, conference proceedings, annual reports, and books written by medical professionals. The center’s site posts Webcasts of CancerSmart lectures from the center.
Outreach: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center medical professionals have provided free breast and cervical cancer screenings at the Breast Examination Center of Harlem since 1979. The center in North General Hospital in Harlem offered cancer screening and treatment at the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention. A Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center mobile van also made mammograms available.
Research: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center research and clinical trials contribute to more effective cancer therapies and drugs that oncology professionals have adopted worldwide. Center scientists tested implanting radioactive seeds in cancers. Researchers have investigated using magnetic resonance spectroscopy with MRI for more effective chemical and physical tumor evaluation. The center’s personnel devised nomograms in which breast cancer patients’ responses to health questionnaires revealed how malignancies might spread.
The Memorial Sloan Kettering Immune Discovery & Modeling Service (IDMS) applies molecular investigation results to strengthen cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Its scientists analyze how pharmaceuticals affect detrimental proteins in genes they detect in breast cancer and other malignant cells. The center’s experts contribute to improving the Information Hyperlinked over Proteins database, which maintains information regarding how genes and proteins interact. Specialized units enhance Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center’s research efforts. The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center began presenting the biennial Paul A. Marks Prize for Cancer Research in the early 2000s.
Bibliography
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