Legendary Oncopathologist Dr. Anita Borges Passes Away at 78

Dr. Anita Borges, a distinguished Indian oncopathologist, passed away on September 18, 2025, at the age of 78 in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, following a heart attack. She had traveled to Raghav Das Medical College to conduct a Continuing Medical Education (CME) program scheduled for September 19–20.

Dr. Borges had traveled to Gorakhpur to conduct a pathology class alongside her longtime colleague, Dr. Sumeet Gujral, as part of the Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) Travelling School of Oncopathology. This initiative, which operates through 15 hubs across India, aims to extend TMH Mumbai’s oncology training and diagnostic expertise to medical students and doctors in smaller cities and centres.

Dr. Borges’s body was transported to Delhi on Thursday night and then to Mumbai on Friday night, where it will remain until the family announces the date for the funeral.

Anita Borges, daughter of the esteemed oncologist and cancer surgeon Dr. Ernest Borges, drew significant inspiration from her father’s distinguished career and leadership at Tata Memorial Hospital. She completed her MBBS and MD in pathology at BYL Nair Hospital and Topiwala Medical College.

Further honing her expertise, she trained at prestigious international institutions, including the Royal Marsden in London, where she became a member and fellow during the 1980s, and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where she also served as a resident.

Dr. Borges earned recognition as a pioneer in oncopathology in India. Often referred to as the “Queen of Histopathology,” she was renowned for her expertise in diagnosing cancer through tissue analysis.

Her precise histopathology reports helped oncologists and surgeons provide timely and effective treatment to countless patients across India.

Colleagues and peers remembered Dr. Borges as a rare blend of academic brilliance, unwavering integrity, and genuine warmth.

With over five decades in medicine, Dr. Borges held several prominent positions. She served as the Head of Surgical Pathology at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, and directed the Centre for Oncopathology at Wadala. Additionally, she led the Department of Histopathology at S.L. Raheja Hospital, Mumbai.

Her leadership roles extended to academia, serving as Dean of the Indian College of Pathologists and Vice President (Asia) of the International Academy of Pathology.

Dr. Borges retired in 2004 as Professor and Head of Surgical Pathology at Tata Memorial Hospital. In the years that followed, she served as Director of the SRL-D Centre of Excellence in Histopathology and continued to lead the Department of Histopathology at S.L. Raheja Hospital, Mahim, where she also founded the Centre for Oncopathology.

Various Medical platforms, professionals and institutions have poured their tributes over social media, following the death of Dr. Anita.

Among her numerous accolades, she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Indian Society of Head and Neck Oncologists.

Tata Memorial Hospital in Parel, the hospital that she was associated with in the beginning of her carrier, posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) expressing their sadness over the sudden demise of Dr. Anita.

(Rh/Eth/ARC/MSM)