Can Incorporating Molecular Testing Improve the Accuracy of Newborn Screening for Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia?

Single-tier newborn screening (NBS) for congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) using 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17OHP) measured by fluoroimmunoassay (FIA) in samples collected at 24 to 48 hours produces a high false-positive rate (FPR). Second-tier steroid testing can reduce the FPR and has been widely implemented.

We investigated the accuracy of an alternative multitier CAH NBS protocol that incorporates molecular testing of the CYP21A2 gene and reduces the first-tier 17OHP cutoff to minimize missed cases.

We create a Minnesota-specific CYP21A2 pathogenic variants panel; developed a rapid, high-throughput multiplex, allele-specific-primer-extension assay; and performed a 1-year retrospective analysis of Minnesota NBS results comparing metrics between a conventional steroid-based 2-tier protocol and a molecular-based multitier NBS protocol, applied post hoc.

CYP21A2 gene sequencing of 103 Minnesota families resulted in a Minnesota-specific panel of 21 pathogenic variants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention created a molecular assay with 100% accuracy and reproducibility. Two-tier steroid-based screening of 68 659 live births during 2015 resulted in 2 false negatives (FNs), 91 FPs, and 1 true positive (TP). A 3-tier protocol with a lower first-tier steroid cutoff, second-tier 21-variant CYP21A2 panel, and third-tier CYP21A2 sequencing would have resulted in 0 FNs, 52 FPs, and 3 TPs.

Incorporation of molecular testing could improve the accuracy of CAH NBS, although some distinct challenges of molecular testing may need to be considered before implementation by NBS programs.