Chi-Med was able to skip the early-stage trial with its Crohn's disease drug candidate because its active ingredient, the herb andrographolide, has been used in China for decades to treat respiratory infections and inflammation.

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John Shepherd, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at St Bartholomew's, told the Sunday Telegraph the success of Britain's cervical cancer screening programme meant that the disease was being caught in its early stage in many more patients.

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Analysis of the data showed a 24% increased risk of advanced cancer and 49% increased risk of early-stage disease for night workers compared with those who worked during the day.

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Men may be cured of prostate cancer if the disease is found and treated at an early stage.

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By contrast, Roche recently doubled the size of a trial testing a compound in patients with early-stage disease.

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And now, the drug, in combination with the chemotherapy Taxol, allows patients with early-stage breast cancer an average of four months without their disease progressing.

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