The article discusses how noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT), widely used for detecting fetal chromosomal disorders, can unintentionally identify cancer in the pregnant individual. Laura Herscher, a genetic counselor, introduces the IDENTIFY study, which is exploring how NIPT, initially designed for fetal analysis, can also indicate maternal neoplasia. The study, led by Diana Bianchi, reveals that NIPT's ability to find DNA fragments from the placenta may serve as a tool for early cancer detection in some cases, thus challenging conventional understandings of prenatal testing.
My guest today is Laura Herscher, a genetic counselor and director of student research at the Sarah Lawrence College Joan H. Marks Graduate Program in Human Genetics.
NIPT is designed to spot chromosomal disorders in the fetus, but in rare cases the blood tests can detect something else: cancer in the parent.
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