Clinical implementation of NIPT - technical and biological challenges

Clin Genet. 2016 May;89(5):523-30. doi: 10.1111/cge.12598. Epub 2015 May 4.

Abstract

Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for fetal aneuploidy detection is increasingly being offered in the clinical setting. Whereas the majority of tests only report fetal trisomies 21, 18 and 13, genome-wide analyses have the potential to detect other fetal, as well as maternal, aneuploidies. In this review, we discuss the technical and clinical advantages and challenges associated with genome-wide cell-free fetal DNA profiling.

Keywords: cell-free DNA, (cfDNA); cell-free fetal DNA, (cffDNA); copy number variation, (CNV); genome sequencing; mosaicism; non-invasive prenatal testing, (NIPT); prenatal diagnosis.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Aneuploidy*
  • DNA / genetics*
  • Female
  • Fetal Diseases / diagnosis*
  • Fetal Diseases / genetics
  • Genome-Wide Association Study / methods
  • Humans
  • Pregnancy
  • Prenatal Diagnosis / methods*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity

Substances

  • DNA