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Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...
of
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52
National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. T ...
–designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Its main campus is located at 1275 York Avenue, between 67th and 68th streets, in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. According to U.S. News & World Report 2021-2022 Best Hospitals, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) has been ranked as the number two hospital for cancer care in the nation.


History


New York Cancer Hospital (1884–1934)

Memorial Hospital was founded on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital by a group that included
John Jacob Astor III John Jacob Astor III (June 10, 1822 – February 22, 1890) was an American financier, philanthropist and a soldier during the American Civil War. He was a prominent member of the Astor family, becoming the wealthiest member in his generation and ...
and his wife Charlotte. The hospital appointed as an attending surgeon William B. Coley, who pioneered an early form of immunotherapy to eradicate tumors. Rose Hawthorne, daughter of author
Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...
, trained there in the summer of 1896 before founding her own order,
Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne are a Roman Catholic congregation of religious sisters, who are a part of the Third Order of Saint Dominic. The Congregation was founded on December 8, 1900, by Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, a daughter of the famed no ...
. In 1899, the hospital was renamed General Memorial Hospital for the Treatment of Cancer and Allied Diseases. In 1902, Arabella Huntington made a $100,000 (approximately $3 million in 2018) bequest in memory of her late husband
Collis Potter Huntington Collis Potter Huntington (October 22, 1821 – August 13, 1900) was an American industrialist and railway magnate. He was one of the Big Four of western railroading (along with Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker) who invested i ...
to establish the first cancer research fund in the country, the Huntington Fund for Cancer Research. Around 1910 James Ewing, a professor at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
's medical college, established a collaboration with Memorial Hospital with the help and funding of industrialist and philanthropist James Douglas, who gave $100,000 to endow twenty beds for clinical research, equipment for working with
radium Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rat ...
, and a clinical laboratory for that purpose. Douglas' enthusiasm and funding for development of
radiation therapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Rad ...
for cancer inspired Ewing to become one of the pioneers in developing this treatment. Ewing soon took over effective leadership of clinical and laboratory research at Memorial. In 1916 the hospital was renamed again, dropping "General" to become known simply as Memorial Hospital. The first fellowship training program in the US was created at Memorial in 1927, funded by the Rockefellers. In 1931 the then-most-powerful 900k-volt
X-ray tube An X-ray tube is a vacuum tube that converts electrical input power into X-rays. The availability of this controllable source of X-rays created the field of radiography, the imaging of partly opaque objects with penetrating radiation. In contrast ...
was put into use in radiation-based cancer treatment at Memorial; the tube had been built by
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...
over several years. In 1931 Ewing was formally appointed president of the hospital, a role he had effectively played until then, and was featured on the cover of ''Time'' magazine as "Cancer Man Ewing"; the accompanying article described his role as one of the most important cancer doctors of his era. He worked at the Memorial until his retirement, in 1939. Under his leadership, Memorial became a model for other cancer centers in the United States, combining patient care with clinical and laboratory research, and it was said of him that "the relationship of Ewing to the Memorial Hospital can best be expressed in the words of Emerson, 'Every institution is but the lengthening shadow of some man.' Dr. Ewing is the Memorial Hospital".


Memorial Hospital and the Sloan Kettering Institute (1934–1980)

In 1934,
John D. Rockefeller Jr. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in M ...
donated land on York Avenue for a new location. Two years later, he granted Memorial Hospital $3,000,000 and the hospital began their move across town. Memorial Hospital officially reopened at the new location in 1939. In 1945, the chairman of
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
,
Alfred P. Sloan Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr. ( ; May 23, 1875February 17, 1966) was an American business executive in the automotive industry. He was a long-time president, chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation. Sloan, first as a senior executive and l ...
, donated $4,000,000 to create the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research through his Sloan Foundation, and
Charles F. Kettering Charles Franklin Kettering (August 29, 1876 – November 25, 1958) sometimes known as Charles Fredrick Kettering was an American inventor, engineer, businessman, and the holder of 186 patents. For the list of patents issued to Kettering, see, Le ...
, GM's vice president and director of research, personally agreed to oversee the organization of a cancer research program based on industrial techniques. The originally independent research institute was built adjacent to Memorial Hospital. In 1948
Cornelius P. Rhoads Cornelius Packard "Dusty" Rhoads (June 9, 1898 – August 13, 1959) was an American pathologist, oncologist, and hospital administrator who was involved in a racist scandal and subsequent whitewashing in the 1930s. Beginning in 1940, he served a ...
became the director of Memorial. Rhoads had run
chemical weapons A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as a ...
programs for the US army in World War II, and had been involved in the work that led to the discovery that
nitrogen mustard Nitrogen mustards are cytotoxic organic compounds with the chloroethylamine (Cl(CH2)2NR2) functional group. Although originally produced as chemical warfare agents, they were the first chemotherapeutic agents for treatment of cancer. Nitrogen ...
s could potentially be used as cancer drugs. He fostered a collaboration between
Joseph H. Burchenal Joseph Holland Burchenal (December 21, 1912 – March 8, 2006) was an American oncologist, and a winner of the 1972 Albert Lasker Award for Medical Research for his work on developing a chemotherapy for Burkitt's lymphoma.Staff, ASCO. February 24, ...
, a clinician at Memorial and
Gertrude B. Elion Gertrude "Trudy" Belle Elion (January 23, 1918 – February 21, 1999) was an American biochemist and pharmacologist, who shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with George H. Hitchings and Sir James Black for their use of innovat ...
and
George H. Hitchings George Herbert Hitchings (April 18, 1905 – February 27, 1998) was an American medical doctor who shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Sir James Black and Gertrude Elion "for their discoveries of important principles for dr ...
at Burroughs Wellcome, who had discovered 6 MP; the collaboration led to the development and eventual wide use of this cancer drug. From the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s Chester M. Southam conducted pioneering
clinical research Clinical research is a branch of healthcare science that determines the safety and effectiveness ( efficacy) of medications, devices, diagnostic products and treatment regimens intended for human use. These may be used for prevention, treat ...
on
virotherapy Virotherapy is a treatment using biotechnology to convert viruses into therapeutic agents by reprogramming viruses to treat diseases. There are three main branches of virotherapy: anti-cancer oncolytic viruses, viral vectors for gene therapy and ...
and cancer immunotherapy at MSK; however he conducted his research on people without their
informed consent Informed consent is a principle in medical ethics and medical law, that a patient must have sufficient information and understanding before making decisions about their medical care. Pertinent information may include risks and benefits of treat ...
. He did this to patients under his care or others' care, and to prisoners. In 1963 some doctors objected to the lack of consent in his experiments and reported him to the Regents of the
University of the State of New York The University of the State of New York (USNY, ) is the state of New York's governmental umbrella organization for both public and private institutions in New York State. The "university" is not an educational institution: it is, in fact, a lic ...
which found him guilty of fraud, deceit, and unprofessional conduct, and in the end he was placed on probation for a year. Southam's research experiments and the case at the Regents were followed in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. In 1960, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center was formed as a new corporation to coordinate the two institutions; John Heller, the former director of the National Cancer Institute was named its president. At the end of the 1960s, as the field of
pediatric oncology Childhood cancer is cancer in a child. About 80% of childhood cancer cases can be successfully treated thanks to modern medical treatments and optimal patient care. However, only about 10% of children diagnosed with cancer reside in high-income co ...
began seeing success in treating children with cancer, Memorial opened an
outpatient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health care ...
pediatric
day hospital A day hospital is an outpatient facility where patients attend for assessment, treatment or rehabilitation during the day and then return home or spend the night at a different facility. Day hospitals are becoming a new trend in healthcare. The numb ...
, partly to deal with the growing number of cancer survivors. In the early 1970s, Burchenal and Benno Schmidt, a professional investor and trustee of MSK, were appointed to the presidential panel that initiated the U.S. federal government's
War on Cancer The "war on cancer" is the effort to find a cure for cancer by increased research to improve the understanding of cancer biology and the development of more effective cancer treatments, such as targeted drug therapies. The aim of such efforts is ...
in the early 1970s. When Congress passed the National Cancer Act of 1971 as part of that effort, Memorial Sloan Kettering was designated as one of only three Comprehensive Cancer Centers nationwide. In 1977,
Jimmie C. Holland Jimmie Coker Holland (April 9, 1928 – December 24, 2017) was a founder of the field of psycho-oncology.National Library of Medicine, Changing the Face of MedicineDr. Jimmie C. HollandPage accessed March 28, 2016 In 1977, she worked with two ...
established a full-time psychiatric service at MSK dedicated to helping people with cancer cope with their disease and its treatment; it was one of the first such programs and was part of the creation of the field of psycho-oncology.


Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (1980–present)

In 1980, Memorial Hospital and the Sloan-Kettering Institute formally merged into a singular entity under the name Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In 2000, former NIH director
Harold Varmus Harold Eliot Varmus (born December 18, 1939) is an American Nobel Prize-winning scientist. He is currently the Lewis Thomas University Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and a senior associate at the New York Genome Center. He was ...
became the director of MSK. During his tenure, he helped build new facilities, strengthened the bond between MSK's clinical and research arms, and fostered collaborations with other institutions, including Weill-Cornell Medical College and Rockefeller University. In 2006, MSK opened the
Mortimer B. Zuckerman Research Center Mortimer Benjamin Zuckerman (born June 4, 1937) is a Canadian-American billionaire media proprietor, magazine editor, and investor. He is the co-founder, executive chairman and former CEO of Boston Properties, one of the largest real estate inve ...
, a 23-story building which houses more than 100 laboratories. In 2010,
Craig B. Thompson Craig B. Thompson (born 1953) is an American cell biologist and a former president of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Education and career Thompson received his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and went on to earn his medica ...
, oncologist and researcher, was appointed MSK's president and CEO. The following year, MSK was rated the third most successful nonprofit in terms of FDA-approved drugs and vaccines, behind the National Institutes of Health and the University of California system. In 2012, Thompson appointed José Baselga as physician-in-chief, who directed the clinical side of MSK. That same year, a collaboration with IBM's
Watson Watson may refer to: Companies * Actavis, a pharmaceutical company formerly known as Watson Pharmaceuticals * A.S. Watson Group, retail division of Hutchison Whampoa * Thomas J. Watson Research Center, IBM research center * Watson Systems, make ...
was announced with the goal of developing new tools and resources to better tailor diagnostic and treatment recommendations for patients. The director of SKI, the research arm of MSK, Joan Massagué was appointed in 2013. Baselga resigned in September 2018 after information came out regarding millions of dollars he received from pharmaceutical companies without disclosing a financial conflict of interest. In 2017, the
Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
approved an MSK-developed immunotherapy, CAR-T, for certain applications in
leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...
and
lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include en ...
. The FDA approved the first academic or commercial tumor identification test MSK-IMPACT in November 2018. MSK has expanded into regional sites including Westchester (NY), Commack (Long Island), Hauppauge (Long Island), Rockville Centre (Long Island), Nassau (Long Island), Bergen (NJ), Monmouth (NJ), and Basking Ridge (NJ). MSK currently employs over 1,200 physicians and treats patients with approximately 400 types of cancer annually. In April 2022, MSK announced a $50 million donation from The Starr Foundation to aid in expanding funding for basic cancer research and discovery science. The donation will establish The Starr Foundation programme for Discovery Science at the Sloan Kettering Institute, the goal of the institute is to drive next-generation cancer breakthroughs. In June 2022 A small drug trial is having a seismic impact in the world of oncology: After six months of an experimental treatment, tumors vanished in all 14 patients diagnosed with early stage rectal cancer who completed the study by the time it was published.


Associated facilities and programs

The Memorial Sloan Kettering Bendheim Integrative Medicine Center had occupied 1429 First Avenue on the corner of East 74th Street in Manhattan. The former bank was built in the 1930s by
Perkins and Will Perkins&Will is a global design practice founded in 1935. Since 1986, the group has been a subsidiary of Lebanon-based Dar Al-Handasah (Arabic: دار الهندسة). Phil Harrison has been the firm's CEO since 2006. History The firm was establ ...
as architects. It was remodeled for use by Memorial Sloan Kettering in 1997. The Center for Image-Guided Intervention was opened in June 2010 in the Memorial Hospital building to oversee image guiding activities across MSK. In October 2012, the Sillerman Center for Rehabilitation was opened, moving rehabilitation out of Memorial Hospital and closer to the Rockefeller Outpatient Pavilion. The New York Proton Center opened in 2019 as a partnership between Memorial Sloan Kettering, Montefiore Health, and Mount Sinai Health. The center was the first Proton therapy center to open in New York State. The David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center opened at 530 East 74th Street between York Avenue and the FDR Drive January 2020. Perkins Eastman designed 750,000sq ft facility in collaboration with Ennead Architects, and ICRAVE. Thornton Tomasetti served as
structural engineer Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of safety, technical, economi ...
, with Jaros, Baum & Bolles providing MEP engineering.


India Center

The center launched its India facility in Chennai in Aug 2022, to provide tele medicine services in collaboration with iCiliniq to facilitate second opinion from the cancer specialists, without the need to travel to US facility.


Training

Approximately 1,700 medical residents and Fellows are in training at MSK. There are 575 postdoctoral researchers training at MSK labs and a combined 288 PhD and MD-PhD candidates. In 2004, the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences was opened at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The first students graduated in 2012. As of January 2019, the dean of the graduate school is cell biologist Michael Overholtzer. The founding dean, serving for over a decade, was molecular biologist Ken Marians. The Tri-Institutional MD–PhD Program is a partnership of MSKCC,
Weill Cornell Medicine The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York. Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with ...
, and
The Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides doctoral and postdoctoral education. It is classified ...
. The dual degree program takes advantage of the close proximity of these three institutions for collaboration on biomedical research and medical training. MSKCC also has an academic partnership with Weill Cornell Medicine known as the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences.


Notable faculty


Presidents

*
Selwyn M. Vickers Selwyn Maurice Vickers is an American gastrointestinal surgical oncologist. He is the President and CEO of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, starting in September 2022. Previously, he was the senior vice president for Medicine and Dean of t ...
, 2022– *
Craig B. Thompson Craig B. Thompson (born 1953) is an American cell biologist and a former president of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Education and career Thompson received his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and went on to earn his medica ...
, 2010–2022 *
Harold Varmus Harold Eliot Varmus (born December 18, 1939) is an American Nobel Prize-winning scientist. He is currently the Lewis Thomas University Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and a senior associate at the New York Genome Center. He was ...
, 2000–2010 * Paul A. Marks, 1980–1999 * Lewis Thomas, 1973–1980 * David Walsh, 1971–1973 * Richard D. Vanderwarker, 1962–1971 *
John R. Heller John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...
, 1960–1961


Others

* James P. Allison * Kathryn V. Anderson *
Murray Brennan Sir Murray Frederick Brennan (born 2 April 1940) is a New Zealand surgeon, oncologist, cancer researcher, and academic. From 1985 to 2006, he was chairman of the surgery department of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City ...
* Carol L. Brown *
Samuel Danishefsky Samuel J. Danishefsky (born March 10, 1936) is an American chemist working as a professor at both Columbia University and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Birth and education Samuel J. Danishefsky was born in 1936 i ...
* Nori Dattatreyudu *
Lisa DeAngelis Lisa Marie DeAngelis is an American neuro-oncologist and Physician-in-Chief and Chief Medical Officer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Early life and education DeAngelis was born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut, to father Daniel D ...
*
Jeffrey Drebin Jeffrey Drebin is a surgeon and scientist. He serves as the Department of Surgery Chair at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Biography Drebin earned his MD and PhD from Harvard Medical School, before completing his general surgery residency, and surgi ...
*
Jimmie C. Holland Jimmie Coker Holland (April 9, 1928 – December 24, 2017) was a founder of the field of psycho-oncology.National Library of Medicine, Changing the Face of MedicineDr. Jimmie C. HollandPage accessed March 28, 2016 In 1977, she worked with two ...
* Maria Jasin * David Kissane * Iris Long *
Scott W. Lowe Scott William Lowe (born October 4, 1963) is Chair of the Cancer Biology and Genetics Program in the Sloan Kettering Institute at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He is recognized for his research on the tumor suppressor gene, p53, which i ...
* Joan Massagué *
Kenneth Offit Kenneth Offit (born February 19, 1955) is an American cancer geneticist and oncologist. He is currently Chief of the Clinical Genetics Service and the Robert and Kate Niehaus Chair in Inherited Cancer Genomics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer ...
*
Lloyd Old Lloyd John Old (September 23, 1933 – November 28, 2011) was one of the founders and standard-bearers of the field of cancer immunology. When Old began his career in 1958, tumor immunology was in its infancy. Today, cancer immunotherapies are e ...
*
Nikola P. Pavletich Nikola Panayot Pavletich is the former chair of structural biology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Education Pavletich received his BS in chemistry from Caltech in 1988 and his PhD in molecular biology and genetics from Johns Hopkins U ...
* Mark S. Ptashne * James Rothman * Alexander Rudensky * Valerie Rusch *
Charles Sawyers Charles L. Sawyers (born 1959) is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator who holds the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Chair of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program (HOPP) at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). H ...
* Lorenz Studer


Reputation

In 2015 Charity Watch rated Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center an "A". Heads of the charity received $2,107,939 to $2,639,669 salary/compensation from the charity. CEO Craig B. Thompson received $2,554,085 salary/compensation from the charity.


See also

* Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences * Tri-Institutional MD–PhD Program *
National Comprehensive Cancer Network National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) is an alliance of 32 cancer centers in the United States, most of which are designated by the National Cancer Institute (one of the U.S. National Institutes of Health) as comprehensive cancer centers. ...
* MD Anderson Cancer Center


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Hospitals established in 1884 Buildings and structures completed in 1973 Cancer hospitals Hospitals in Manhattan Institutions founded by the Rockefeller family Universities and colleges in Manhattan Charles F. Kettering Upper East Side Medical research institutes in New York (state) NCI-designated cancer centers 1884 establishments in New York (state)