Hope S. Rugo, MD, FASCO, recently joined the staff of City of Hope as the new Director of the Women’s Cancers Program, Division Chief of Breast Medical Oncology, and Professor in the Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research. In her role, she will lead and enhance City of Hope’s women’s cancers research and clinical care across the enterprise, expand clinical trials and translational research, and standardize cancer care to achieve improved patient outcomes and experiences.
Hope S. Rugo, MD, FASCO
“It is hard to imagine anyone in the breast cancer field who has not heard of Dr. Rugo’s extraordinary expertise, deep compassion, and commitment to improving patients’ lives,” said Marcel van den Brink, MD, PhD, President, City of Hope Los Angeles and City of Hope National Medical Center, and Deana and Steve Campbell Chief Physician Executive Distinguished Chair in Honor of Alexandra Levine, MD. “Dr. Rugo is a distinguished oncologist and visionary leader in clinical trial design and execution, integrating targeted therapies with standard treatments to enhance care for both early- and late-stage breast cancer.”
Scope of Breast Cancer Research
Dr. Rugo has contributed to studies that led to new breast cancer treatments, serving on the steering committees for multiple clinical trials leading to approval of PARP inhibitors, CDK4/6 inhibitors, PI3K inhibitors, checkpoint inhibitors, and antibody-drug conjugates, among others. In addition, she has led several studies aimed at minimizing therapy-related toxicity, resulting in approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of scalp-cooling caps to prevent chemotherapy-induced hair loss and a steroid mouthwash to alleviate the symptoms of stomatitis caused by certain targeted therapies.
As Co-Chair of the Triple Negative Working Group of the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium, Dr. Rugo has spearheaded and collaborated on multicenter clinical translational research trials. She has served in leadership roles with the Breast Committee for the Alliance and directed a phase III trial involving three pharmaceutical companies.
Dr. Rugo is also an investigator and Chair of the Safety Committee for the multicenter, adaptively randomized, phase II I-SPY2 trial. This study was designed to improve the outcomes of high-risk patients with breast cancer by testing new neoadjuvant therapies. She also contributes her expertise to the Novel Agents Committee, further advancing the field of breast cancer research.
Dr. Rugo’s editorial work with ASCO’s Education Committee and her co-chairing of recent guidelines for the hormonal treatment of metastatic breast cancer demonstrate her commitment to shaping clinical practice. Her service with the Advanced and Early Breast Cancer Guidelines Consensus Panel through the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and the European Society of Oncology underscores her influence on a global scale.
Professional Experience and Honors
Beyond her research, Dr. Rugo is a dedicated clinician and educator, focused on providing compassionate care to her patients. She shares her expertise on breast cancer treatment and supportive care at local, national, and international conferences. Dr. Rugo has published or contributed to more than 500 peer-reviewed journal articles and written more than 100 journal perspectives, editorials, and book chapters.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Dr. Rugo completed her residency in internal medicine and primary care, followed by a fellowship in hematology and oncology at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and a postdoctoral fellowship in immunology at Stanford University. She was previously at UCSF for 35 years, where she served in various clinical and academic leadership roles.
Dr. Rugo has been celebrated for her excellence in patient care, medical education, and clinical research. Among her numerous national and international accolades are the Giants of Oncology in Breast Cancer and Education and the 2024 ESMO Breast Cancer Award.
