title: Maternal serum placental growth factor in prospective screening for aneuploidies at 8-13 weeks' gestation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether measurement of maternal serum placental growth factor (PLGF) can improve the performance of first-trimester combined screening for trisomy-21 by fetal nuchal translucency (NT) thickness and serum free β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) and PAPP-A.
  
  
  METHODS
  In singleton pregnancies attending for routine care, serum PLGF, free β-hCG and PAPP-A were measured at 8(+0)-13(+6) weeks' gestation, and fetal NT was measured at 11(+0)-13(+6) weeks. The population included 12,154 normal and 44 trisomy-21 pregnancies. We examined the effect of adding PLGF on the performance of screening by the combined test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the trisomy-21 pregnancies the median multiple of the normal median PLGF, adjusted for gestational age, maternal weight, racial origin, smoking status and method of conception, was significantly reduced (0.6070, 95% CI 0.5543-0.6648), and this did not change significantly with gestational age. Adding PLGF to combined testing with a risk cut-off of 1 in 100 reduced the false positive rate from 2.7% (95% CI 2.5-3.0) to 2.6% (95% CI 2.4-2.8) and increased the detection rate from 85% (95% CI 75-93) to 88% (95% CI 78-95).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Inclusion of serum PLGF improves the performance of the first-trimester combined test in screening for trisomy-21.
authors.affiliation: Department of Fetal Medicine, University College Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: Pranav
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pandya
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Argyro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Syngelaki
authors.forename: Ranjit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Akolekar
authors.forename: Kypros H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Nicolaides
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000782:Aneuploidy; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D048208:Nuchal Translucency Measurement; D000072483:Placenta Growth Factor; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000097:blood*; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D011266:Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A / Q000378:metabolism; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human; C000608036:PGF protein, human; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins; D000072483:Placenta Growth Factor; D011266:Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A