Identification of copy number variations among fetuses with isolated ultrasound soft markers in pregnant women not of advanced maternal age.

BACKGROUND: Pathogenic (P) copy number variants (CNVs) may be associated with second-trimester ultrasound soft markers (USMs), and noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS) can enable interrogate the entire fetal genome to screening of fetal CNVs. This study evaluated the clinical application of NIPS for detecting CNVs among fetuses with USMs in pregnant women not of advanced maternal age (AMA).

RESULTS: Fetal aneuploidies and CNVs were identified in 6647 pregnant women using the Berry Genomics NIPS algorithm.Those with positive NIPS results underwent amniocentesis for prenatal diagnosis. The NIPS and prenatal diagnosis results were analyzed and compared among different USMs. A total of 96 pregnancies were scored positive for fetal chromosome anomalies, comprising 37 aneuploidies and 59 CNVs. Positive predictive values (PPVs) for trisomy 21, trisomy 18, trisomy 13, and sex chromosome aneuploidies were 66.67%, 80.00%, 0%, and 30.43%, respectively. NIPS sensitivity for aneuploidies was 100%. For CNVs, the PPVs were calculated as 35.59% and false positive rate of 0.57%. There were six P CNVs, two successfully identified by NIPS and four missed, of which three were below the NIPS resolution limit and one false negative. The incidence of aneuploidies was significantly higher in fetuses with absent or hypoplastic nasal bone, while that of P CNVs was significantly higher in fetuses with aberrant right subclavian artery (ARSA), compared with other groups.

CONCLUSIONS: NIPS yielded a moderate PPV for CNVs in non-AMA pregnant women with fetal USM. However, NIPS showed limited ability in identifying P CNVs. Positive NIPS results for CNVs emphasize the need for further prenatal diagnosis. We do not recommend the use of NIPS for CNVs screening in non-AMA pregnant women with fetal USM, especially in fetuses with ARSA.