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Genovese G, Mello CJ, Loh PR, Handsaker RE, Kashin S, Whelan CW, Bayer-Zwirello LA, McCarroll SA. Chromosomal phase improves aneuploidy detection in non-invasive prenatal testing at low fetal DNA fractions. Sci Rep 2022; 12:12025. [PMID: 35835769 PMCID: PMC9283487 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-14049-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) to detect fetal aneuploidy by sequencing the cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in maternal plasma is being broadly adopted. To detect fetal aneuploidies from maternal plasma, where fetal DNA is mixed with far-larger amounts of maternal DNA, NIPT requires a minimum fraction of the circulating cfDNA to be of placental origin, a level which is usually attained beginning at 10 weeks gestational age. We present an approach that leverages the arrangement of alleles along homologous chromosomes—also known as chromosomal phase—to make NIPT analyses more conclusive. We validate our approach with in silico simulations, then re-analyze data from a pregnant mother who, due to a fetal DNA fraction of 3.4%, received an inconclusive aneuploidy determination through NIPT. We find that the presence of a trisomy 18 fetus can be conclusively inferred from the patient’s same molecular data when chromosomal phase is incorporated into the analysis. Key to the effectiveness of our approach is the ability of homologous chromosomes to act as natural controls for each other and the ability of chromosomal phase to integrate subtle quantitative signals across very many sequence variants. These results show that chromosomal phase increases the sensitivity of a common laboratory test, an idea that could also advance cfDNA analyses for cancer detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulio Genovese
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA. .,Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA. .,Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| | - Curtis J Mello
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.,Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.,Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Po-Ru Loh
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.,Division of Genetics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Robert E Handsaker
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.,Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.,Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Seva Kashin
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.,Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.,Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Christopher W Whelan
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.,Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.,Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Lucy A Bayer-Zwirello
- Steward St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02135, USA
| | - Steven A McCarroll
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.,Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.,Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
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Muzzey D, Goldberg JD, Haverty C. Noninvasive prenatal screening for patients with high body mass index: Evaluating the impact of a customized whole genome sequencing workflow on sensitivity and residual risk. Prenat Diagn 2019; 40:333-341. [PMID: 31697845 PMCID: PMC7065115 DOI: 10.1002/pd.5603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2019] [Revised: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 10/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Objective Women with high body mass index (BMI) tend to have reduced fetal fraction (FF) during cell‐free DNA‐based noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS), causing test failure rates up to 24.3% and prompting guidelines that recommend aneuploidy screening other than NIPS for patients with significant obesity. Because alternatives to NIPS are only preferable if they perform better, we compared the respective sensitivities at different BMI levels of traditional aneuploidy screening and a customized whole‐genome sequencing NIPS. Method The relationship between FF, aneuploidy, and BMI was quantified from 58 105 patients screened with a customized NIPS that does not fail samples because of low FF alone. Expected analytical sensitivity as a function of aneuploidy and BMI (eg, trisomy 18 sensitivity when BMI = 35) was determined by scaling the BMI‐ and aneuploidy‐specific FF distribution by the FF‐ and aneuploidy‐specific sensitivity calculated from empirically informed simulations. Results Across all classes of obesity and assuming zero FF‐related test failures, analytical sensitivity for the investigated NIPS exceeded that of traditional aneuploidy screening for trisomies 13, 18, and 21. Conclusion Relative to traditional aneuploidy screening, a customized NIPS with high accuracy at low FF and a low test‐failure rate is a superior screening option for women with high BMI. What's already known about this topic?
Women with high body mass index (BMI) often receive a test failure on noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS) because of low fetal fraction (FF). The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics recommends offering traditional aneuploidy screening to patients with “significant obesity.” NIPS offerings differ in their efficacy at low FF.
What does this study add?
Irrespective of BMI and without FF‐based test failures, it is possible for a customized NIPS to provide all women with accurate prenatal screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dale Muzzey
- Myriad Women's Health, South San Francisco, CA, USA.,Myriad Genetics, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
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Muzzey D, Haverty C, Evans EA, Goldberg JD. Response to "Noninvasive prenatal screening at low fetal fraction: comparing whole-genome sequencing and single-nucleotide polymorphism methods". Prenat Diagn 2017; 37:727-728. [PMID: 28675624 PMCID: PMC5811916 DOI: 10.1002/pd.5071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2017] [Accepted: 05/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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