A scan of the article’s results shows that LabCorp did indeed get the number right–97.9% for trisomy 21. You may have noticed the footnote in the image above–that is a reference to an article published in 2014 that evaluated tests like MaterniT 21, known as cell-free DNA tests. Now for the fun part–I’m going to break down what is meant by the number cited in the brochure above and trace it back to the original research to see what it actually means. In another part of the brochure, the company says that “the test delivers clear positive or negative results.” I take this as enough evidence to say that LabCorp wants women to believe that the test will determine whether the fetus has Down’s syndrome with reasonable confidence, such as a greater than 90% probability. While they don’t define what the technical terms are in the parentheses, 97.9% does sound pretty good. This brochure mentions how accurate the test is in only one place: LabCorp (under its subsidiary Integrated Genetics) offers a brochure for the test on its website. The misleading statistics put out by LabCorp might convince some women to do dangerous, invasive follow-on testing (or even an abortion) based on misplaced confidence in the test.Only for women over 40 does the test provide reasonably conclusive results.For women under 30, even if they get a positive result from the MaterniT 21 test, it’s still more likely that the fetus does not have Down’s syndrome.It will take a bit of time to read through this post, so I’ll give the highlights first: In this post I explain why you shouldn’t buy into the company’s marketing about the test’s accuracy–in fact, LabCorp is patently misleading consumers about how useful its test is for diagnosing Down’s syndrome in utero. As a result, women and their partners may be led to make unwise decisions based on misplaced confidence in the test. However, due to corporate greed and manipulated statistics, people put way too much trust in the test when they probably shouldn’t. So while it might seem like a good idea (let’s learn as much as we can), the test can only guide decisions if it’s reasonably accurate. While non-invasive, it isn’t cheap (at least in the United States), and if it returns a positive result, it could be used for more invasive procedures like amniocentesis that could be harmful to the fetus. My wife and I have been faced with a decision in our pregnancies that has always caused me some consternation: should we take the MaterniT 21 test to see if our baby might have Down’s syndrome (trisomy 21) or other genetic abnormalities? This test, marketed by the company LabCorp, offers a way to analyze the blood of a pregnant woman for DNA markers that could indicate genetic problems. Interested in more writing on the shady dealings of big business? Check out my just-released book with Cambridge University Press and use discount code KUBINEC23 to get 20% off.
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