Prospective prenatal cell-free DNA screening for genetic conditions of heterogenous etiologies

J Zhang, Y Wu, S Chen, Q Luo, H Xi, J Li, X Qin… - Nature Medicine, 2024 - nature.com
J Zhang, Y Wu, S Chen, Q Luo, H Xi, J Li, X Qin, Y Peng, N Ma, B Yang, X Qiu, W Lu, Y Chen…
Nature Medicine, 2024nature.com
Prenatal cell-free DNA (cfDNA) screening uses extracellular fetal DNA circulating in the
peripheral blood of pregnant women to detect prevalent fetal chromosomal anomalies.
However, numerous severe conditions with underlying single-gene defects are not included
in current prenatal cfDNA screening. In this prospective, multicenter and observational study,
pregnant women at elevated risk for fetal genetic conditions were enrolled for a cfDNA
screening test based on coordinative allele-aware target enrichment sequencing. This test …
Abstract
Prenatal cell-free DNA (cfDNA) screening uses extracellular fetal DNA circulating in the peripheral blood of pregnant women to detect prevalent fetal chromosomal anomalies. However, numerous severe conditions with underlying single-gene defects are not included in current prenatal cfDNA screening. In this prospective, multicenter and observational study, pregnant women at elevated risk for fetal genetic conditions were enrolled for a cfDNA screening test based on coordinative allele-aware target enrichment sequencing. This test encompasses the following three of the most frequent pathogenic genetic variations: aneuploidies, microdeletions and monogenic variants. The cfDNA screening results were compared to invasive prenatal or postnatal diagnostic test results for 1,090 qualified participants. The comprehensive cfDNA screening detected a genetic alteration in 135 pregnancies with 98.5% sensitivity and 99.3% specificity relative to standard diagnostics. Of 876 fetuses with suspected structural anomalies on ultrasound examination, comprehensive cfDNA screening identified 55 (56.1%) aneuploidies, 6 (6.1%) microdeletions and 37 (37.8%) single-gene pathogenic variants. The inclusion of targeted monogenic conditions alongside chromosomal aberrations led to a 60.7% increase (from 61 to 98) in the detection rate. Overall, these data provide preliminary evidence that a comprehensive cfDNA screening test can accurately identify fetal pathogenic variants at both the chromosome and single-gene levels in high-risk pregnancies through a noninvasive approach, which has the potential to improve prenatal evaluation of fetal risks for severe genetic conditions arising from heterogenous molecular etiologies. ClinicalTrials.gov registration: ChiCTR2100045739.
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