Prenatal Testing with Cell-Free DNA Demonstrated Clinical Benefit

Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) has clinical benefit over conventional prenatal screening tests, and at a price point of USD 795, NIPT demonstrated cost savings to the healthcare system.

An analytic model was used to compare NIPT for trisomy 21, which causes Down syndrome, against conventional prenatal screening with first trimester combined or integrated screening for the US population. Modeling was based on a 4 million pregnant women cohort in the US. While NIPT is not as comprehensive as a karyotype, it does not carry a risk of pregnancy loss.

This is the first study to evaluate the economic impact of NIPT in a high-risk pregnancy population as recommended by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine (SMFM). As compared to conventional prenatal screening, NIPT detected 65%–85% more cases of trisomy 21, reduced invasive procedures by over 95%, and in turn, reduced over 99% of unnecessary fetal loss. The study appeared online on January 28, 2013, in the Journal of Maternal Fetal and Neonatal Medicine.

"The clinical advantages of implementing noninvasive prenatal testing into clinical practice are becoming increasingly clear and this model quantifies the benefit," said Dr. Aaron Caughey, senior author of the study and chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Oregon Health and Sciences University (Portland, OR, USA). "One of the most striking findings is that NIPT can be cost saving to the US healthcare system at the appropriate price. Few, if any, new technologies can demonstrate both clinical and cost benefit. NIPT represents a healthcare advance to achieve the Triple Aim of improved quality, better access, and lower costs."

Produced by molecular diagnostics company Ariosa Diagnostics, Inc. (San Jose, CA, USA) the Harmony Prenatal Test equips pregnant women and their healthcare providers with reliable information to make decisions regarding their health, without creating unnecessary stress or anxiety.

Related Links:
Oregon Health and Sciences University
Ariosa Diagnostics