Hope S. Rugo, MD
Professor, Department of Medicine (Hematology/Oncology);
Director, Breast Oncology and Clinical Trials Education
Medical Director of Cancer Infusion Services, UCSF
Dr. Rugo 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. 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).
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.
Over the last 20 years, advances in HER2 targeting treatments, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 inhibitors (CDK4/6is) have prolonged survival and changed the breast cancer treatment landscape. Success leads to more questions about optimal drug sequencing, mechanisms of resistance, and how to overcome that resistance. Let’s ask Dr. Stephanie Graff to help us tackle these topics and more.