LA CROSSE — Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare facilities in La Crosse and Onalaska are looking to recruit 6,000 women for a nationwide clinical trial of 120,000 women to gauge whether blood tests can be developed to detect breast cancer early.

The La Crosse Tribune reports that California-based life sciences company GRAIL Inc. announced the trial Thursday.

This is the company’s second multi-center study. It has enlisted several Mayo Clinic sites, including the mother ship in Rochester, Minnesota, as well as facilities in Arizona and Florida.

Carolyn Flock, facilities’ research operations manager for Mayo-Franciscan, says its biobank project put it on the study’s radar.

The facility’s biobank project launched in August 2013. It involves collecting volunteers’ blood to be part of a library to help researchers find causes and cures for diseases.