Hope S. Rugo
Breast oncologist who led key ADC and CDK4/6 trials and moved from UCSF to City of Hope in 2024.
Medical oncologist who was principal investigator of TROPiCS-02 (sacituzumab govitecan in HR+ breast cancer) and a leader in scalp cooling and toxicity management studies. Joined City of Hope from UCSF in 2024.
| Title | Journal | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Sacituzumab Govitecan in Hormone Receptor-Positive/Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer | Journal of Clinical Oncology | 2022 |
| Association Between Use of a Scalp Cooling Device and Alopecia After Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer | JAMA | 2017 |
Patients whose breast cancer was previously called HER2-negative may now be eligible for an effective HER2-directed drug if their tumour has even low-level HER2 staining, so pathology reports must now distinguish HER2-low (1+ or 2+/ISH-negative) from HER2-zero. This applies to metastatic disease after at least one line of chemotherapy; it does not mean these patients benefit from trastuzumab or other older HER2 drugs.
Sacituzumab govitecan is a standard second-line or later treatment for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, roughly doubling survival compared with the chemotherapies it was tested against. Patients should expect neutropenia and diarrhoea, which are manageable with growth factor support and loperamide. Trials are now testing it earlier, in first-line combinations with pembrolizumab and after surgery for residual disease.