Positive predictive value estimates for noninvasive prenatal testing from data of a prenatal diagnosis laboratory and literature review

Objective Since 2011, noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) has undergone rapid expansion, with both utilization and coverage. However, conclusive data regarding the clinical validity and utility of this testing tool are lacking. Thus, there is a continued need to educate clinicians and patients about the current benefits and limitations in order to inform pre- and post-test counseling, pre/perinatal decision making, and medical risk assessment/management. Methods This retrospective study included women referred for invasive prenatal diagnosis to confirm positive NIPT results between January 2017 and December 2020. Prenatal diagnosis testing, including karyotyping, chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) were performed. Positive predictive values (PPVs) were calculated. Results In total, 468 women were recruited. The PPVs for trisomies 21, 18, and 13 were 86.1%, 57.8%, and 25.0%, respectively. The PPVs for rare chromosomal abnormalities (RCAs) and copy number variants (CNVs) were 17.0% and 40.4%, respectively. The detection of sex chromosomal aneuploidies (SCAs) had a PPV of 20% for monosomy X, 23.5% for 47,XXX, 68.8% for 47,XXY, and 62.5% for 47,XYY. The high-risk groups had a significant increase in the number of true positive cases compared to the low- and moderate-risk groups. Conclusions T13, monosomy X, and RCA were associated with lower PPVs. The improvement of cell-free fetal DNA screening technology and continued monitoring of its performance are important.