Angelita Habr‑Gama, Pioneer of Coloproctology, Dies in São Paulo

Overview

• The Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz said Professor Angelita Habr‑Gama died on Saturday after being admitted on May 6 and serving on the hospital's clinical staff for decades.
• She developed the 'Watch and Wait' protocol in 1991, an organ‑preserving strategy for select rectal cancer patients that has been adopted in international treatment guidelines.
• Habr‑Gama broke gender barriers in Brazilian medicine as the first woman appointed titular professor in a surgical specialty at USP and as the first Brazilian honorary member of the American Surgical Association.
• Over a long career she published hundreds of papers, won more than 50 national and international prizes, was named among Stanford’s top 2% of scientists and founded institutions focused on colorectal prevention and training.
• The hospital issued a note expressing deep sorrow and did not disclose a cause of death; news outlets report inconsistent ages at death, and colleagues say her loss removes a key mentor and institutional leader for future surgeons.