Background
Founded in 1884, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) is the world's oldest and largest private cancer center, with more than a century devoted to patient care and innovative research, making significant contributions to better understand, diagnose, and treat cancer. MSKCC is one of only 41 NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and it has more than 10,000 employees. In 2007, approximately 21,870 patients were admitted to Memorial Hospital, and approximately 443,830 outpatient visits were accommodated at its Manhattan and regional facilities combined.

Patient Care
MSKCC's experts have established standards of care and treatment protocols for each type and stage of cancer. Its physicians have an extraordinary depth and breadth of experience in diagnosing and treating all forms of the disease, from the most common to the very rare. Each year, they treat more than 400 different subtypes of cancer. This level of specialization can have an often dramatic effect on patients' chances for a cure or control of their disease.

MSKCC offers a full range of programs to help patients and families throughout all phases of treatment, including support groups, genetic counseling, help managing cancer pain and symptoms, rehabilitation, integrative medicine services, and assistance in navigating life after treatment.

Research
MSKCC's physicians and scientists have pioneered many novel therapeutic regimens that have made possible the remarkable advances in cancer treatment. Physicians at MSKCC are currently leading approximately 500 clinical trials for pediatric and adult cancer patients.

The Sloan-Kettering Institute (SKI) maintains one of the world's most dynamic programs of cancer research dedicated to understanding the biology of cancer through programs in cancer biology and genetics, cell biology, computational biology, developmental biology, immunology, molecular biology, molecular pharmacology and chemistry, and structural biology. The SKI research staff includes more than 90 laboratory investigators, 404 research fellows, and 150 graduate students (both Ph.D. and M.D./Ph.D. candidates). The institute boasts nine National Academy of Sciences members and seven Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators.

Expansion
In recent years, MSKCC has undergone a major expansion, with new construction and renovations designed to meet the growing needs of both its patients and its scientific initiatives. The Center's newly opened Zuckerman Research Center has more than 300,000 square feet of laboratory space and houses many cancer research programs and laboratories. MSKCC has also developed a network of community-based, state-of-the-art outpatient cancer treatment facilities that bring the Center's expert care closer to patients living throughout its geographic region. MSKCC's new Breast and Imaging Center, which is currently under construction, will be ready for occupancy in 2009. The 16-story facility will accommodate the increasing number of breast cancer patients who come to MSKCC for treatment while also expanding services for cancer screening and diagnostic services. In 2006, MSKCC opened a new 72,000-square-foot surgical center that includes 21 state-of-the-art operating rooms, all of which are equipped for both minimally invasive and more traditional open surgery.

An exciting new dimension to MSKCC is the recent establishment of the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. The novel program, which offers a Ph.D. degree in cancer biology, trains gifted young laboratory scientists to work in research areas directly related to cancer and other human diseases.