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Lessons learned from expanded reproductive carrier screening in self-reported Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrahi Jewish
Gidon Akler1,2,3, Ashley H Birch1,4, Nicole Schreiber-Agus4
1Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
Background:
Next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based panels have gained traction as a strategy for reproductive carrier screening. Their value for screening Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) individuals, who have benefited greatly from population-wide targeted testing, as well as Sephardi/Mizrahi Jewish (SMJ) individuals (an underserved population), has not been fully explored.
Methods:
The clinical utilization by 6,805 self-reported Jewish individuals of an expanded NGS panel, along with several ancillary assays, was assessed retrospectively. Data were extracted for a subset of 96 diseases that, during the panel design phase, were classified as being AJ-, SMJ-, or pan-Jewish/pan-ethnic-relevant.
Results:
64.6% of individuals were identified as carriers of one or more of these 96 diseases. Over 80% of the reported variants would have been missed by following recommended AJ screening guidelines. 10.7% of variants reported for AJs were in "SMJ-relevant genes," and 31.2% reported for SMJs were in "AJ-relevant genes." Roughly 2.5% of individuals carried a novel, likely pathogenic variant. One in 16 linked cohort couples was identified as a carrier couple for at least one of these 96 diseases.
Conclusion:
For maximal carrier identification, this study supports using expanded NGS panels for individuals of all Jewish backgrounds. This approach can better empower at-risk couples for reproductive decision making.
