In Memoriam Anita Maria Borges, M.D., FRCPath (19th November 1947 – 18th September 2025)

Dr Anita Maria Borges, the most easily recognized histopathologist/oncopathologist in India, was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) and did her undergraduate and postgraduate studies (1966–1975) at the Topiwala National Medical College and BYL Nair Charitable Hospital, Bombay. She then trained at the Royal Marsden Hospital (London, England) and later, at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York, USA). Following time spent abroad, she returned to Bombay, and joined the Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) in 1981, was Chief of Surgical Pathology and worked there until 2004. After her retirement from TMH, she worked at a private laboratory (Wellspring/Piramal/SRL) and was also Head of Histopathology at the S.L Raheja Hospital, Mumbai, before establishing in 2021, the Centre for Oncopathology, a non-profit center funded by the Tata Trusts, a philanthropic organization based in Mumbai. Addressed as Anita by her peers, “Bee” by her nieces and nephews, “Ma’am” by her students, Dr Borges by everyone else and referred to as AB in professional circles, she has single-handedly been responsible for the development of oncopathology in India. She was one of the finest minds of our time and had a deep understanding not only of cancer and histopathology, but also of medicine overall. Her forte was her ability to synthesize morphology, biomarkers, and molecular genetics into clinically relevant diagnoses for better patient outcomes. While her intellect was a natural talent, her prowess as a pan-cancer diagnostician extraordinaire was aided by the fact that she was there at the beginning of the cancer story and lived to see different stories develop or peter out. In clinical practice, this “clarity of thought” transformed her into a “Sherlock Holmes with a microscope,” with the uncanny ability to not only make clinically relevant diagnoses but also to predict what else might be happening to the patient then or in the future. Her work across five decades providing diagnostic input to between 0.5 and 1 million patients has left an unparalleled impact, which no individual pathologist today would be able to replicate. She was blessed with curiosity, was an avid reader, developed excellent working partnerships with surgeons and oncologists and remained relevant throughout her long career, despite a rapidly and everchanging medical landscape. Her deep understanding and her ability to think laterally has led to multiple publications which are a delight to read and have culminated in her being the responsible author or editor of multiple sections (Hematolymphoid) of the recent 5th edition of the WHO classification of tumors—which all histopathologists use as a bible of daily practice. Over her career, she had served in various capacities (including Chairman/President/Vice President/Dean) of various organizations including the International Academy of Pathology—Indian division, the Indian College of Pathologists, the Indian Cancer Society and as editor of various journals including being on the editorial board in the early years of the American Journal of Surgical Pathology. Dr Borges approached her practice and general life with an attitude of unwavering honesty, integrity, and dedication—values that she worked hard to transfer to generations of colleagues and students. She was passionate about teaching but considered herself to be an “Educator” rather than a teacher. Rather than didactic teaching, she stimulated the person across by asking questions rather than just providing answers, encouraging people to think about the whys, the how’s and when’s of things, something that was invaluable and was sorely lacking in the Indian education system. She was one of the few people who understood what they were talking about and had the ability to communicate complex thought processes effectively making the difficult and arcane seem effortlessly simple. When the Covid epidemic struck, she wondered how pathology teaching could continue and started an online training program for postgraduates in pathology (OTPPG) which over time is now subscribed to by over 600 medical schools especially across the Indian subcontinent and in Africa and is used by thousands of pathology postgraduates across 30 countries. This program allows students bi-weekly exposure to experts from across the world, directly from the comfort of their homes/departments. An unexpected benefit of this is that today’s practicing pathologists (i.e., the current generation of teachers) use it as well, thus not only keeping up to date and enhancing their diagnostic skills but also becoming better future teachers. As an educator and mentor, she always wanted her students to surpass her own achievements, encouraging them to be better. Working to the highest professional standards was something she believed in passionately. This was reflected by her support and active participation in the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) in its early days. Recognizing the need for appropriate training to reach standards, she started another innovative project, the “Tata Memorial Centre Travelling School of Oncopathology” in which she visited a medical college with a team of pathologists, laboratory technicians, and clinical oncologists. This allowed for hands on training of local technical staff, and participation in slide seminars and tumor boards for medical staff. This program has selected 15 medical colleges from different parts of India to act as resource hubs to further promote training in their regions. Dr Borges was regarded as the champion of histopathology and was rather clear that histopathologists did not exist only to respond to the curiosity of their medical/surgical colleagues. Her viewpoint that histopathologists were equal, if not more crucial, partners to other medical colleagues in patient management because of the information only they could provide, went a long way in instilling self-belief, confidence, and a recognition of self-worth into the histopathology community. As a human being, she was compassionate, caring and believed in doing the right thing. She had a remarkable memory for names and faces and would routinely put people at ease by addressing them by name and remembering where they had interacted in the past. She was known for her generosity and is remembered fondly by students for taking time out of her busy schedule to travel to their hometowns to inaugurate and encourage their fledgling practices. On a personal level she enjoyed travelling, was amazingly well read, and was a treasure trove of information on myriad topics making her a very entertaining conversationalist. She had a love for non-synthetic sarees, wore them immaculately, accessorized with interesting pieces of ethnic jewelry and has often been described as the “silver haired, beautiful, elegant lady, rocking a saree.” A foodie at heart, she was usually on a first name basis with the best chefs in town and was also an excellent source for recommendations on where to go and dine. At conferences, at the end of the day it was well known that with a little encouragement, Ma’am would be very happy to break into song and dance. Dr Borges is survived by her lifelong partner, three sisters, a brother and a nephew and nieces. Overall, not only was she the Doctor’s doctor, she was also a wonderful human being, who despite appearing formidable, had a very large heart and, for those who interacted with her, it left them richer in all aspects and significantly better than before. While we grieve this immense loss, we also celebrate a life lived with purpose, passion, and profound impact. Her legacy will continue to live on in us, in every life she touched, every patient benefited, every student she trained and in every diagnosis we make. Thank you, Ma’am, and rest in peace.