Research Summary

Hope S. Rugo, MD, FASCO, is professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she is also the director of Breast Oncology and Clinical Trials Education. Dr. Rugo joined the Breast Care Center in 1999 after a decade of experience at University of California San Francisco in malignant hematology and bone marrow transplantation for a variety of diseases, including breast cancer. She entered the field of breast cancer in order to incorporate novel therapies based on an understanding of the biology of cancer with excellent quality of care into the treatment of women with breast cancer.

Dr. Rugo is the Director of Breast Oncology and Clinical Trials Education at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is a principal investigator of multiple clinical trials focusing on combining novel targeted therapeutics with standard treatment to improve the treatment of both early and late stage breast cancer, and has published widely in this area. Her current research interests include immunotherapy and combinations of targeted agents in the treatment of breast cancer to overcome resistance. She was a member of the steering committee for the EMBRACA and ABRAZO studies that evaluated the efficacy of the PARP inhibitor talazoparib in patients with metastatic breast cancer and germline mutations in BRCA1 and 2. In addition, Dr. Rugo has conducted a number of studies focusing on reducing toxicity from therapy, resulting in approval of scalp cooling to reduce chemotherapy induced hair loss, and a steroid mouthwash to reduce targeted agent stomatitis. She is an investigator and the chair of the Safety Committee for the multicenter adaptively randomized phase II I-SPY2 trial, and serves on the Novel Agents Committee. Dr. Rugo is the co-chair of the Triple Negative Working Group and an active member of the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium (TBCRC), and is the principal investigator of several TBCRC trials including a multi-center immunotherapy trial funded by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). She is an active member of the Alliance (formerly CALGB) Breast Committee, as well as ASCO, where she serves on the Guidelines Committee and as an editor for the Education Committee.

In addition to her research, Dr. Rugo is an active clinician, and is committed to education, regularly lecturing locally, nationally and internationally on subjects relating to the treatment of and supportive care for breast cancer. At UCSF, Dr. Rugo runs the Breast Forum, an open bimonthly evening educational session for breast cancer patients, families and friends from throughout the bay area.

Dr. Rugo graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1983. She completed a residency in internal medicine and primary care followed by a fellowship in hematology and oncology at the University of California San Francisco. She was a post-doctoral fellow in immunology participating in laboratory research at Stanford University from 1988-1990. In 1990, Dr. Rugo joined the faculty at UCSF in the Division of Hematology and Oncology. Dr. Rugo recognized for her excellence in both patient care and in teaching of both medical students and training physicians. She has received several awards including the Bank of America Gianini Foundation Award and a UCSF Clinical Cancer Center Investigator Research Program intra-mural award. In 2006, she received an honor for her work in Breast Cancer Research by the Friends of the Breast Care Center and received the Cancer Care physician of the year award in 2010 by the Cancer Care National Organization.

Research Funding

  • December 1, 1974 - March 31, 2009 - General Clinical Research Center , Co-Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: M01RR000079

Education

Tufts University, BS, 1979, Chemistry
University of Pennsylvania, MD, 1984, Medicine
University of California San Francisco, 1987, Resident, Internal Medicine
University of California San Francisco, 1990, Fellow, Hematology/Oncology
Stanford University, 1988-90, Postdoctoral Fellowship, Microbiology/Immunology
DNAX Institute of Cellular and Molecular Biology, 1989-90, Visiting Scientist, Immunology

Honors & Awards

  • College
    Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi; Victor Prather Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research; Durkee Scholarship for promise and achievement in the field of chemistry; Max Tishler Prize Scholarship for outstanding achievement in the sciences
  • Medical School
    Henry Luce Scholar in the Philippines; Certificate of Commendation, Philadelphia Area Project on Occupational Safety and Health; National Health Service Corps Scholarship; Janet M. Glasgow Memorial Achievement Citation
  • 1990
    Awarded Bank of America Gianini Foundation Research Fellowship

Selected Publications

  1. Wolf DM, Yau C, Wulfkuhle J, Brown-Swigart L, Gallagher IR, Lee PRE, Zhu Z, Magbanua MJ, Sayaman R, O'Grady N, Basu A, Delson A, Coppé JP, Lu R, Braun J, I-SPY2 Investigators, Asare SM, Sit L, Matthews JB, Perlmutter J, Hylton N, Liu MC, Pohlmann P, Symmans WF, Rugo HS, Isaacs C, DeMichele AM, Yee D, Berry DA, Pusztai L, Petricoin EF, Hirst GL, Esserman LJ, van 't Veer LJ. Redefining breast cancer subtypes to guide treatment prioritization and maximize response: Predictive biomarkers across 10 cancer therapies. Cancer Cell. 2022 May 25.  View on PubMed
  2. Cristofanilli M, Rugo HS, Im SA, Slamon DJ, Harbeck N, Bondarenko I, Masuda N, Colleoni M, DeMichele A, Loi S, Iwata H, O'Leary B, André F, Loibl S, Bananis E, Liu Y, Huang X, Kim S, Lechuga Frean MJ, Turner NC. Overall Survival With Palbociclib And Fulvestrant in Women With HR+/HER2- ABC: Updated Exploratory Analyses of PALOMA-3, a Double-Blind, Phase 3 Randomized Study. Clin Cancer Res. 2022 May 12.  View on PubMed
  3. Tripathy D, Tolaney SM, Seidman AD, Anders CK, Ibrahim N, Rugo HS, Twelves C, Diéras V, Müller V, Du Y, Currie SL, Hoch U, Tagliaferri M, Hannah AL, Cortés J, ATTAIN Investigators. Treatment With Etirinotecan Pegol for Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer and Brain Metastases: Final Results From the Phase 3 ATTAIN Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol. 2022 May 12.  View on PubMed
  4. O'Shaughnessy J, Brufsky A, Rugo HS, Tolaney SM, Punie K, Sardesai S, Hamilton E, Loirat D, Traina T, Leon-Ferre R, Hurvitz SA, Kalinsky K, Bardia A, Henry S, Mayer I, Zhu Y, Phan S, Cortés J. Analysis of patients without and with an initial triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis in the phase 3 randomized ASCENT study of sacituzumab govitecan in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2022 May 11.  View on PubMed
  5. Borno HT, Kim MO, Hong JC, Yousefi S, Lin A, Tolstykh I, Zhang S, McKay RR, Harismendy O, Cinar P, Rugo H, Koshkin VS, Rabow M, Wang C, Bailey A, Small EJ. COVID-19 Outcomes Among Patients With Cancer: Observations From the University of California Cancer Consortium COVID-19 Project Outcomes Registry. Oncologist. 2022 May 06; 27(5):398-406.  View on PubMed
  6. Marczyk M, Mrukwa A, Yau C, Wolf D, Chen YY, Balassanian R, Nanda R, Parker BA, Krings G, Sattar H, Zeck JC, Albain KS, Boughey JC, Liu MC, Elias AD, Clark AS, Venters SJ, Shad S, Basu A, Asare SM, Buxton M, Asare AL, Rugo HS, Perlmutter J, DeMichele AM, Yee D, Berry DA, van 't Veer L, Symmans WF, Esserman L, Pusztai L, I-SPY Consortium. Treatment Efficacy Score - continuous residual cancer burden-based metric to compare neoadjuvant chemotherapy efficacy between randomized trial arms in breast cancer trials. Ann Oncol. 2022 May 02.  View on PubMed
  7. Griffiths EA, Roy V, Alwan L, Bachiashvili K, Baird J, Cool R, Dinner S, Geyer M, Glaspy J, Gojo I, Hicks A, Kallam A, Kidwai WZ, Kloth DD, Kraut EH, Landsburg D, Lyman GH, Mahajan A, Miller R, Nachar V, Patel S, Patel S, Perez LE, Poust A, Riaz F, Rosovsky R, Rugo HS, Simon S, Vasu S, Wadleigh M, Westbrook K, Westervelt P, Berardi RA, Pluchino L. NCCN Guidelines® Insights: Hematopoietic Growth Factors, Version 1.2022. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2022 05; 20(5):436-442.  View on PubMed
  8. Apple AC, Lindbergh CA, Landau SM, DeLuca A, Eberling JL, Jagust WJ, Kramer JH, Rugo HS, Heflin LH. Longitudinal Trajectories of Memory Performance in Patients with Early-Stage Breast Cancer. J Oncol. 2022; 2022:5899728.  View on PubMed
  9. Huppert LA, Gumusay O, Rugo HS. Emerging treatment strategies for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Ther Adv Med Oncol. 2022; 14:17588359221086916.  View on PubMed
  10. Gumusay O, Huppert LA, Behr SC, Rugo HS. The role of percutaneous vertebral augmentation in patients with metastatic breast cancer: Literature review including report of two cases. Breast. 2022 Jun; 63:149-156.  View on PubMed
  11. Blum JL, Laird AD, Litton JK, Rugo HS, Ettl J, Hurvitz SA, Martin M, Roché HH, Lee KH, Goodwin A, Chen Y, Lanzalone S, Chelliserry J, Czibere A, Hopkins JF, Albacker LA, Mina LA. Determinants of Response to Talazoparib in Patients with HER2-Negative, Germline BRCA1/2-Mutated Breast Cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2022 Apr 01; 28(7):1383-1390.  View on PubMed
  12. Rugo HS, O'Shaughnessy J, Boyle F, Toi M, Broom R, Blancas I, Gumus M, Yamashita T, Im YH, Rastogi P, Zagouri F, Song C, Campone M, San Antonio B, Shahir A, Hulstijn M, Brown J, Zimmermann A, Wei R, Johnston SRD, Reinisch M, Tolaney SM, monarchE Committee Members. Adjuvant abemaciclib combined with endocrine therapy for high-risk early breast cancer: safety and patient-reported outcomes from the monarchE study. Ann Oncol. 2022 Jun; 33(6):616-627.  View on PubMed
  13. Magbanua MJM, Gumusay O, Kurzrock R, van 't Veer LJ, Rugo HS. Immunotherapy in Breast Cancer and the Potential Role of Liquid Biopsy. Front Oncol. 2022; 12:802579.  View on PubMed
  14. Vaughan H, Rugo HS, Haemel A. Risk-Based Screening for Cancer in Patients With Dermatomyositis: Toward a More Individualized Approach. JAMA Dermatol. 2022 03 01; 158(3):244-247.  View on PubMed
  15. Umashankar S, Mamounas ME, Matthys M, Hadeler EK, Wong EC, Hicks G, Hwang J, Chien AJ, Rugo HS, Hamolsky D, Esserman L, Melisko M. Evaluation of the Pathways for Survivors Program to Address Breast Cancer Survivorship-Associated Distress: Survey Study. JMIR Cancer. 2022 Feb 25; 8(1):e31756.  View on PubMed
  16. Tarantino P, Corti C, Schmid P, Cortes J, Mittendorf EA, Rugo H, Tolaney SM, Bianchini G, Andrè F, Curigliano G. Immunotherapy for early triple negative breast cancer: research agenda for the next decade. NPJ Breast Cancer. 2022 Feb 18; 8(1):23.  View on PubMed
  17. Barroso-Sousa R, Tarantino P, Tayob N, Dang C, Yardley DA, Isakoff SJ, Valero V, Faggen M, Mulvey T, Bose R, Hu J, Weckstein D, Wolff AC, Reeder-Hayes K, Rugo HS, Ramaswamy B, Zuckerman D, Hart L, Gadi VK, Constantine M, Cheng K, Briccetti F, Schneider B, Garrett AM, Marcom K, Albain K, DeFusco P, Tung N, Ardman B, Nanda R, Jankowitz RC, Rimawi M, Abramson V, Pohlmann PR, Van Poznak C, Forero-Torres A, Liu M, Ruddy KJ, Zheng Y, Rosenberg SM, Gelber RD, Trippa L, Barry W, DeMeo M, Burstein H, Partridge A, Winer EP, Krop I, Tolaney SM. Cardiac outcomes of subjects on adjuvant trastuzumab emtansine vs paclitaxel in combination with trastuzumab for stage I HER2-positive breast cancer (ATEMPT) study (TBCRC033): a randomized controlled trial. NPJ Breast Cancer. 2022 Feb 16; 8(1):18.  View on PubMed
  18. DeBoer RJ, Rugo HS, Shulman LN. Reconceptualizing Risk-Benefit Assessment of Novel Cancer Therapies to Expand Global Access and Reduce Worldwide Mortality. JAMA Oncol. 2022 02 01; 8(2):203-204.  View on PubMed
  19. Geyer CE, Sikov WM, Huober J, Rugo HS, Wolmark N, O'Shaughnessy J, Maag D, Untch M, Golshan M, Lorenzo JP, Metzger O, Dunbar M, Symmans WF, Rastogi P, Sohn JH, Young R, Wright GS, Harkness C, McIntyre K, Yardley D, Loibl S. Long-term efficacy and safety of addition of carboplatin with or without veliparib to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer: 4-year follow-up data from BrighTNess, a randomized phase III trial. Ann Oncol. 2022 Apr; 33(4):384-394.  View on PubMed
  20. Gumusay O, Callan J, Rugo HS. Immunotherapy toxicity: identification and management. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2022 Feb; 192(1):1-17.  View on PubMed

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