Noninvasive blood tests for fetal development predict gestational age and preterm delivery

作者：Ngo Thuy T M; Moufarrej Mira N; Rasmussen Marie Louise H; Camunas Soler Joan; Pan Wenying; Okamoto Jennifer; Neff Norma F; Liu Keli; Wong Ronald J; Downes Katheryne; Tibshirani Robert; Shaw Gary M; Skotte Line; Stevenson David K; Biggio Joseph R; Elovitz Michal A; Melbye Mads^*; Quake Stephen R^*

来源：Science, 2018, 360(6393): 1133-1136.

DOI：10.1126/science.aar3819

Noninvasive blood tests that provide information about fetal development and gestational age could potentially improve prenatal care. Ultrasound, the current gold standard, is not always affordable in low-resource settings and does not predict spontaneous preterm birth, a leading cause of infant death. In a pilot study of 31 healthy pregnant women, we found that measurement of nine cell-free RNA (cfRNA) transcripts in maternal blood predicted gestational age with comparable accuracy to ultrasound but at substantially lower cost. In a related study of 38 women (23 full-term and 15 preterm deliveries), all at elevated risk of delivering preterm, we identified seven cfRNA transcripts that accurately classified women who delivered preterm up to 2 months in advance of labor. These tests hold promise for prenatal care in both the developed and developing worlds, although they require validation in larger, blinded clinical trials.

• 出版日期2018-6-8