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. 2020 Dec;22(12):1944-1955.
doi: 10.1038/s41436-020-0930-2. Epub 2020 Aug 18.

Genome-wide noninvasive prenatal screening for carriers of balanced reciprocal translocations

Nicola Jane Flowers  1 , Trent Burgess  1   2 , Olivia Giouzeppos  1 , Grace Shi  1 , Clare Jane Love  1 , Clare Elizabeth Hunt  1 , Katrina Louise Scarff  1 , Alison Dalton Archibald  1   2 , Mark Domenic Pertile  3   4
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Free article

Genome-wide noninvasive prenatal screening for carriers of balanced reciprocal translocations

Nicola Jane Flowers et al. Genet Med. 2020 Dec.
Free article

Abstract

Purpose: Balanced reciprocal translocation carriers are at increased risk of producing gametes with unbalanced forms of the translocation leading to miscarriage, fetal anomalies, and birth defects. We sought to determine if genome-wide cell-free DNA based noninvasive prenatal screening (gw-NIPS) could provide an alternative to prenatal diagnosis for carriers of these chromosomal rearrangements.

Methods: This pilot series comprises a retrospective analysis of gw-NIPS and clinical outcome data from 42 singleton pregnancies where one parent carried a balanced reciprocal translocation. Gw-NIPS was performed between August 2015 and March 2018. Inclusion criteria required at least one translocation segment to be ≥15 Mb in size.

Results: Forty samples (95%) returned an informative result; 7 pregnancies (17.5%) were high risk for an unbalanced translocation and confirmed after diagnostic testing. The remaining 33 informative samples were low risk and confirmed after diagnostic testing or normal newborn physical exam. Test sensitivity of 100% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 64.6-100%) and specificity of 100% (95% CI: 89.6-100%) were observed for this pilot series.

Conclusion: We demonstrate that gw-NIPS is a potential option for a majority of reciprocal translocation carriers. Further confirmation of this methodology could lead to adoption of this noninvasive alternative.

Keywords: cell-free DNA; genome-wide NIPS; reciprocal translocation; subchromosomal abnormality.

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