The ESMO Breast Cancer Award was established in 2019 to acknowledge distinguished experts who have devoted a major part of their career and made a special contribution to the discovery and development of education, research and clinical practice in the breast cancer field.
The ESMO Breast Cancer Award is presented at the annual ESMO Breast Cancer Congress and the Award recipient is invited to give a keynote lecture during the Opening Ceremony.
2024 – Hope S. Rugo, USA
The 2024 ESMO Breast Cancer Award was conferred to Hope S. Rugo, Professor of Medicine and Winterhof Family Professor of Breast Cancer at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center in recognition of her exceptional contributions to breast cancer clinical research.
Her research interests include novel therapies for advanced breast cancer, immune modulation to restore chemotherapy sensitivity, evaluation of circulating tumour DNA as a marker of response and resistance to therapy, neoadjuvant therapy, and safety/supportive care.
Previous recipients of the ESMO Breast Cancer Award
- Sara A. Hurvitz (2023)
- Sibylle Loibl (2022)
- Andrew Tutt (2021)
- Sherene Loi (2020)
- Jonas Bergh (2019)
Nomination and selection process
The recipient is nominated by the ESMO Breast Cancer Congress Scientific Committee based on the following eligibility criteria.
The candidate must:
- have made a special contribution to breast cancer research, education and clinical practice
- be an individual (institutions and organisations are not eligible)
- be an oncology professional, medical or clinical oncologist or researcher
- be an ESMO member
The candidate must not:
- be a current member of the ESMO Executive Board, the ESMO Council or the ESMO Nomination Committee, nor have served on these committees within the last two (2) years
- be a past recipient of the ESMO Breast Cancer Award
- have received any other Award from ESMO within the last five (5) years
- be a Scientific Co-Chair of the ESMO Breast Cancer Congress
Members of the Scientific Committee are eligible however they may not nominate themselves. More than one nomination is allowed.
All nominations are evaluated and a final awardee is selected by the Selection Committee: the Scientific Committee Co-Chairs of the ESMO Breast Cancer Congress, the ESMO Nomination Committee Chair and the ESMO President.