# Angelita Habr-Gama

Source: https://onco.cc/people/angelita-habr-gama/  
OnCo record `angelita-habr-gama` (Person). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Brazilian surgeon who first showed that rectal cancers that vanish after chemoradiation can be watched rather than removed.

## Summary

Angelita Habr-Gama (University of São Paulo) published the 2004 series demonstrating that patients with a clinical complete response to chemoradiation for distal rectal cancer could safely avoid surgery, founding the watch-and-wait approach now tested in OPRA and adopted worldwide. She has led the International Watch & Wait Database and continues to refine response assessment and salvage strategies.

## Fields

- Kind: Person
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Tags: colorectal; surgery; organ-preservation; latin-america
- Role: Professor of Surgery, University of São Paulo; Angelita & Joaquim Gama Institute
- Specialisms: Rectal cancer; Watch-and-wait; Colorectal surgery

## Sources

- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Habr-Gama%20A%5BAuthor%5D%20rectal%20watch%20and%20wait

## Connected records

- cancers: [Colorectal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/colorectal/), [Rectal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/rectal-cancer/)
- terms: [Chemoradiation (chemoradiotherapy, CRT)](https://onco.cc/terms/chemoradiation/), [Complete response](https://onco.cc/terms/complete-response/), [Organ preservation (watch-and-wait, bladder-sparing, larynx preservation)](https://onco.cc/terms/organ-preservation/)
- key papers: [Operative versus nonoperative treatment for stage 0 distal rectal cancer following chemoradiation therapy: long-term results](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-habr-gama-nonoperative-stage-0-rectal-ann-surg-2004/)
- ideas: [Randomise organ preservation against surgery in mismatch repair-proficient rectal cancer, with bowel function as a co-primary endpoint](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-crc-organ-preservation-randomised-in-pmmr-rectal/)

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