BackgroundArray comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) is currently the most powerful method for detecting chromosomal alterations in pre and postnatal clinical cases. In this study, we developed a BAC based array CGH analysis platform for detecting whole genome DNA copy number changes including specific micro deletion and duplication chromosomal disorders. Additionally, we report our experience with the clinical implementation of our array CGH analysis platform. Array CGH was performed on 5080 pre and postnatal clinical samples from patients referred with a variety of clinical phenotypes.ResultsA total of 4073 prenatal cases (4033 amniotic fluid and 40 chorionic villi specimens) and 1007 postnatal cases (407 peripheral blood and 600 cord blood) were studied with complete concordance between array CGH, karyotype and fluorescence in situ hybridization results. Among 75 positive prenatal cases with DNA copy number variations, 60 had an aneuploidy, seven had a deletion, and eight had a duplication. Among 39 positive postnatal cases samples, five had an aneuploidy, 23 had a deletion, and 11 had a duplication.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates the utility of using our newly developed whole-genome array CGH as first-tier test in 5080 pre and postnatal cases. Array CGH has increased the ability to detect segmental deletion and duplication in patients with variable clinical features and is becoming a more powerful tool in pre and postnatal diagnostics.

BackgroundArray comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) is a powerful tool for detecting unbalanced chromosomal alterations. To validate the usefulness of array CGH in newborn screening, we examined 20,126 unselected infants. In addition, the number of newborns analyzed with array CGH is the largest one ever reported.FindingsA total of 20,126 unselected newborns were investigated with array CGH and cytogenetic analyses. The analyses revealed 87 cases with chromosome abnormalities. Of these, 53 cases had significant chromosome aneuploidies, including trisomy 13, trisomy 21, 47,XXY or 45,X, and the other 34 cases presented partial chromosomal deletions or duplications.ConclusionsIn this study, we show that array CGH is an appropriate tool for the screening of chromosomal abnormalities in newborns, especially for the infants without distinct clinical features.