A legacy that changed rectal cancer

When Professor Heald first described TME, local recurrence rates after rectal cancer surgery in many centres were 20-30%, with devastating consequences for patients. By insisting on meticulous, sharp dissection in the “holy plane”, respecting embryology and removing the mesorectum as an intact package, he showed that local recurrence could be reduced to single digits, with corresponding gains in survival and function.

The delegation was composed of Maria Würth, granddaughter of Prof. Reinhold Würth and Executive Vice President of the Würth Group for Arts and Culture, accompanied by her husband, who met with the Champalimaud Foundation’s leadership and the directors of the clinical and scientific teams to review progress and discuss next steps for this long‑term collaboration.

The Principal Investigator’s Office is a space where ideas are challenged, discoveries take shape and research moves forward.

Here, researchers get together to discuss projects, share findings and debate scientific publications. It is a space for mentoring, project management and learning – where emerging questions spark new possibilities.

Through dialogue, critical thinking and collaboration, individual efforts become collective progress.

Vital is a podcast by Polígrafo and Viral, in partnership with the Champalimaud Foundation.

This episode was hosted by journalist Marta Sofia Ribeiro.

The Champalimaud Foundation is in no way responsible for the data, information or viewpoints expressed within the context of the project, nor is it bound by them. Responsibility for these, under applicable law, lies solely with the authors, the interviewees, the editors or the distributors of the initiative.

Vital is a podcast by Polígrafo and Viral, in partnership with the Champalimaud Foundation.

This episode was hosted by journalist Marta Sofia Ribeiro.

The Champalimaud Foundation is in no way responsible for the data, information or viewpoints expressed within the context of the project, nor is it bound by them. Responsibility for these, under applicable law, lies solely with the authors, the interviewees, the editors or the distributors of the initiative.

Vital is a podcast by Polígrafo and Viral, in partnership with the Champalimaud Foundation.

This episode was hosted by journalist Sara Beatriz Monteiro.

The Champalimaud Foundation is in no way responsible for the data, information or viewpoints expressed within the context of the project, nor is it bound by them. Responsibility for these, under applicable law, lies solely with the authors, the interviewees, the editors or the distributors of the initiative.

Vital is a podcast by Polígrafo and Viral, in partnership with the Champalimaud Foundation.

This episode was hosted by journalist Marta Sofia Ribeiro.

The Champalimaud Foundation is in no way responsible for the data, information or viewpoints expressed within the context of the project, nor is it bound by them. Responsibility for these, under applicable law, lies solely with the authors, the interviewees, the editors or the distributors of the initiative.

Vital is a podcast by Polígrafo and Viral, in partnership with the Champalimaud Foundation.

This episode was hosted by journalist Marta Sofia Ribeiro.

The Champalimaud Foundation is in no way responsible for the data, information or viewpoints expressed within the context of the project, nor is it bound by them. Responsibility for these, under applicable law, lies solely with the authors, the interviewees, the editors or the distributors of the initiative.

Vital is a podcast by Polígrafo and Viral, in partnership with the Champalimaud Foundation.

This episode was hosted by journalist Marta Sofia Ribeiro.

The Champalimaud Foundation is in no way responsible for the data, information or viewpoints expressed within the context of the project, nor is it bound by them. Responsibility for these, under applicable law, lies solely with the authors, the interviewees, the editors or the distributors of the initiative.