The U.S. government launched a clinical trial Tuesday aimed at learning whether genetic profiling can help women with breast cancer avoid the unpleasant -- and sometimes dangerous -- side effects of chemotherapy. The test will screen the biological activity of 21 genes that researchers have shown to be involved with the most common form of breast cancer, and tailor treatment to the outcome. The screening will be used to determine whether the patient receives chemotherapy, in addition to other standard treatments. Subjects of the trial will be 10,000 women volunteers whose cancers are described as estrogen- or progesterone-positive and lymph node-negative.

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Copyright 2005 Knight Ridder.