Hope Rugo, MD

Hope S. Rugo, MD

Winterhof Family Endowed Professorship in Breast Cancer, UCSF

Professor, Department of Medicine (Hematology/Oncology); Director, Breast Oncology and Clinical Trials Education; and Medical Director of Cancer Infusion Services, UCSF

Cancer Center Program Membership

Breast Oncology

Phone: (415) 353-7070 (appts)

Box 1710, UCSF
San Francisco, CA 94143

Physician Biography

UCSF Profiles

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. Corti C, Rugo HS, Tolaney SM. Decoding Clinical Trials in Metastatic Breast Cancer: Practical Insights for Optimal Therapy Sequencing. Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book. 2025 Jun; 45(3):e100053.  View on PubMed
  2. Khozin S, Dreyer NA, Galante D, Liu R, Neumann P, Nussbaum N, O'Shaughnessy J, Patt D, Rimawi M, Rugo H, Tolaney SM, Weiss M, Brufsky A. Real-World Evidence Acceptability and Use in Breast Cancer Treatment Decision-Making in the United States: Call-to-Action from a Multidisciplinary Think Tank. Adv Ther. 2025 May 12.  View on PubMed
  3. Ueno NT, Cottone F, Dunton K, Jacot W, Yamashita T, Sohn J, Tokunaga E, Prat A, Tsurutani J, Park YH, Rugo HS, Xu B, Cardoso F, Mitri Z, Mahtani R, Aguilar CO, Xiao F, Harbeck N, Cameron DA, Modi S. Patient-reported outcomes from DESTINY-Breast04: trastuzumab deruxtecan versus physician's choice of chemotherapy in patients with HER2-low mBC. Oncologist. 2025 May 08; 30(5).  View on PubMed
  4. Rugo HS, Bardia A, Gradishar WJ, Hamilton EP, Hurvitz SA, Jhaveri K, Mahtani R, Tolaney SM. Expert consensus on treating HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer based on real-world practice patterns observed in the RETRACT survey of US oncologists. Breast. 2025 May 03; 82:104485.  View on PubMed
  5. Fasching PA, Slamon D, Nowecki Z, Kukielka-Budny B, Stroyakovskiy D, Yardley DA, Huang CS, Chan A, Chia S, Martín M, Rugo HS, Loi S, Hurvitz S, Untch M, Afenjar K, Fresco R, Danyliv A, Ferrusi I, Li Z, Hortobagyi G. Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with HR+/HER2- Early Breast Cancer Treated with Ribociclib Plus a Nonsteroidal Aromatase Inhibitor: Results from the NATALEE Trial. Clin Cancer Res. 2025 May 01; 31(9):1625-1635.  View on PubMed
  6. Huppert LA, Mahtani R, Fisch S, Dempsey N, Premji S, Raimonde A, Jacob S, Quintal L, Melisko M, Chien J, Sandoval A, Carcas L, Ahluwalia M, Harpalani N, Hoppenworth J, Blaes A, Blum K, Kim MO, Idossa D, Rao R, Giridhar KV, Rugo HS. Multicenter retrospective cohort study of the sequential use of the antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) and sacituzumab govitecan (SG) in patients with HER2-low metastatic breast cancer (MBC). NPJ Breast Cancer. 2025 Apr 15; 11(1):34.  View on PubMed
  7. Hahnen E, Hauke J, Gelmon K, Marmé F, Ernst C, Martin M, Untch M, Bonnefoi H, Knudsen E, Im SA, DeMichele A, Van't Veer L, Kim SB, Bear H, McCarthy N, Rhiem K, Turner N, Witkiewicz A, Rojo F, Filipits M, Martin LA, Fasching PA, Schem C, Becker K, García-Sáenz JA, Kelly CM, Reimer T, Toi M, Rugo HS, Denkert C, Gnant M, Makris A, Liu Y, Valota O, Felder B, Weber K, Nekljudova V, Loibl S. BRCA1/2 and Other Predisposition Genes in High-Risk Hormone Receptor+/Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2- Breast Cancer Treated With Endocrine Therapy With or Without Palbociclib: A Secondary PENELOPE-B Study Analysis. JCO Precis Oncol. 2025 Apr; 9:e2400742.  View on PubMed
  8. Brufsky AM, Sandin R, Stergiopoulos S, Chen C, Karanth S, Li B, Esterberg E, Makari D, Candrilli SD, Goyal RK, Rugo HS. Overall Survival With Palbociclib and Aromatase Inhibitor Versus Aromatase Inhibitor Alone in Older Patients With HR+/HER2- Metastatic Breast Cancer. Cancer Med. 2025 Apr; 14(7):e70719.  View on PubMed
  9. Brufsky A, Liu X, Li B, McRoy L, Chen C, Layman RM, Rugo HS. Treatment with palbociclib and an aromatase inhibitor for people with hormone receptor-positive/ human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative metastatic breast cancer that has spread to the lungs or liver: a plain language summary. Future Oncol. 2025 May; 21(11):1287-1295.  View on PubMed
  10. Bardia A, Pistilli B, Rugo H. Reply to: Assessing Clinical Utility of Datopotamab Deruxtecan Versus Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2025 Mar 28; JCO2402833.  View on PubMed
  11. Loibl S, Martin M, Bonnefoi H, Untch M, Kim SB, Bear HD, García-Sáenz JA, Melé Olivé M, Mc Carthy N, Gelmon K, Kelly CM, Im SA, Reimer T, Martinez-Janez M, Zhang Z, Toi M, Provencher L, Rugo HS, Gnant M, Makris A, Antón Torres A, Hirmas N, Holtschmidt J, Nekljudova V, Marmé F. Final survival results from the PENELOPE-B trial investigating palbociclib versus placebo for patients with high-risk HR+/HER2- breast cancer and residual disease after neoadjuvant chemotherapy-PENELOPE-B. Ann Oncol. 2025 Mar 24.  View on PubMed
  12. Park YH, Bianchini G, Cortés J, Licata L, Vidal M, Iihara H, Roeland EJ, Jordan K, Scotté F, Schwartzberg L, Navari RM, Aapro M, Rugo HS. Nausea and vomiting in an evolving anticancer treatment landscape: long-delayed and emetogenic antibody-drug conjugates. Future Oncol. 2025 Apr; 21(10):1261-1272.  View on PubMed
  13. Janni W, Friedl TWP, Yab TC, Bidard FC, Cristofanilli M, Hayes DF, Ignatiadis M, Regan MM, Alix-Panabieres C, Barlow WE, Caldas C, Carey LA, Dirix L, Fehm T, Garcia-Saenz JA, Gazzaniga P, Generali D, Gerratana L, Gisbert-Criado R, Jacot W, Jiang Z, Joosse SA, Lianidou E, López López R, Magbanua MJM, Manso L, Mavroudis D, Müller V, Munzone E, Pantel K, Pierga JY, Rack B, Riethdorf S, Rugo HS, Sideras K, Sleijfer S, Smerage J, Stebbing J, Terstappen LWMM, Vidal-Martínez J, Wallwiener M, Giridhar KV, Liu MC. Clinical validity of repeated circulating tumor cell enumeration as an early treatment monitoring tool for metastatic breast cancer in the PREDICT global pooled analysis. Clin Cancer Res. 2025 Mar 18.  View on PubMed
  14. Harbeck N, Dieras V, Gelmon KA, Finn RS, Martin M, Neven P, Kim S, Ma J, Gauthier E, Broughton E, Doan J, Rugo HS. Effect of palbociclib plus letrozole on patient-reported health-related quality of life: extended follow-up of the PALOMA-2 trial. ESMO Open. 2025 Apr; 10(4):104497.  View on PubMed
  15. Rugo HS, Bardia A, Schmid P, Tolaney SM, Dasgupta A, Kaushik A, Verret W, Gosset M, Brufsky A, Cortés J, Marmé F. Q-TWiST Analysis of Sacituzumab Govitecan vs. Chemotherapy in Previously Treated Patients with HR+/HER2- Metastatic Breast Cancer. Curr Oncol. 2025 Mar 15; 32(3).  View on PubMed
  16. Gluz O, Xu B, Nanda R, Dasgupta A, Kaushik A, Verret W, Sharma A, Singh B, Rugo HS. Efficacy of sacituzumab govitecan versus treatment of physician's choice in previously treated HR+ and HER2- mBC: a meta-analysis of TROPiCS-02 and EVER-132-002 trials. Ther Adv Med Oncol. 2025; 17:17588359251320285.  View on PubMed
  17. Meric-Bernstam F, Bardia A, Bossi P, Bianchini G, Gatlin F, Lalla RV, Melosky B, Niikura N, Yap TA, Kim SS, Rajagopalan R, Fairhurst RM, Graff SL, Rugo HS. Prophylaxis, clinical management, and monitoring of datopotamab deruxtecan-associated oral mucositis/stomatitis. Oncologist. 2025 Mar 10; 30(3).  View on PubMed
  18. Rugo HS, Schmid P, Tolaney SM, Marmé F, Bardia A, Spears PA, Cortés J. A plain language summary of quality of life with sacituzumab govitecan treatment in the TROPiCS-02 study in participants with breast cancer (HR-positive/HER2-negative). Future Oncol. 2025 Mar; 21(7):775-786.  View on PubMed
  19. Rugo HS. Management of toxicities from antibody-drug conjugates. Clin Adv Hematol Oncol. 2025 Mar-Apr; 23(2):96-99.  View on PubMed
  20. Denkert C, Rachakonda S, Karn T, Weber K, Martin M, Marmé F, Untch M, Bonnefoi H, Kim SB, Seiler S, Bear HD, Witkiewicz AK, Im SA, DeMichele A, Pehl A, Van't Veer L, McCarthy N, Stiewe T, Jank P, Gelmon KA, García-Sáenz JA, Westhoff CC, Kelly CM, Reimer T, Felder B, Olivé MM, Knudsen ES, Turner N, Rojo F, Schmitt WD, Fasching PA, Teply-Szymanski J, Zhang Z, Toi M, Rugo HS, Gnant M, Makris A, Holtschmidt J, Nekljudova V, Loibl S. Dynamics of molecular heterogeneity in high-risk luminal breast cancer-From intrinsic to adaptive subtyping. Cancer Cell. 2025 02 10; 43(2):232-247.e4.  View on PubMed

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