Risk calculation for evaluation of fetal aneuploidy

1. A method for calculating an odds for a fetal aneuploidy in a maternal sample from a pregnant female, comprising the steps of:

a) obtaining the maternal sample from the pregnant female;

b) executing, by a fetal aneuploidy processing system, a process for calculating the odds for the fetal aneuploidy in the maternal sample, the maternal sample comprising two or more chromosomes in an assay, the steps comprising:

i) comparing at least one hundred polymorphic loci of a set of polymorphic loci in the maternal sample that are different in maternal DNA and fetal DNA to measure a fetal proportion and a chromosome dosage for the two or more chromosomes;

ii) calculating a first likelihood that a first fetal chromosome is disomic using an expected chromosome dosage of a first chromosome if the first fetal chromosome were disomic;

iii) calculating a second likelihood that a first fetal chromosome is aneuploid using the expected chromosome dosage of the first chromosome if the first fetal chromosome were aneuploid adjusted for the measured fetal proportion in the maternal sample to account for an expected representation of the first chromosome if it were aneuploid; and

iv) computing the odds for the fetal aneuploidy for the first fetal chromosome by comparing the measured chromosome dosage for the two or more chromosomes in the maternal sample to the first likelihood that a first fetal chromosome is disomic and to the second likelihood that a first fetal chromosome is aneuploid; and

c) assisting in a communication of the computed odds for the fetal aneuploidy to the pregnant female.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

providing an adjusted odds that the first fetal chromosome is aneuploid, the adjusted odds being determined using data on prior risk of aneuploidy for at least the first fetal chromosome based on extrinsic characteristics.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the data on prior risk of aneuploidy comprises information related to maternal age.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the data on prior risk of aneuploidy comprises information related to gestational age.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pregnant female is at least 10 weeks pregnant.

6. A method for computing a risk score for fetal aneuploidy in a maternal sample from a pregnant female, comprising:

a) obtaining the maternal sample from the pregnant female;

b) executing, by the fetal aneuploidy processing system, a process for computing the risk score for the fetal aneuploidy in the maternal sample, the maternal sample comprising a first and at least a second chromosome in an assay, the steps comprising:

i) comparing at least one hundred polymorphic loci of a set of polymorphic loci in the maternal sample that are different in maternal DNA and fetal DNA to measure a fetal proportion and a chromosome dosage for the first and at least the second chromosome;

ii) calculating a disomic model for a first fetal chromosome using an expected chromosome dosage of the first chromosome if the first fetal chromosome were disomic;

iii) multiplying the expected chromosome dosage of the first chromosome by an expected change in chromosome dosage if the first fetal chromosome were aneuploid based on the measured fetal proportion in the maternal sample, to create an aneuploid model reflecting an expected representation of the first fetal chromosome if the first fetal chromosome were aneuploid in the maternal sample; and

iv) computing the risk score for fetal aneuploidy of the first fetal chromosome by comparing the measured chromosome dosage for the first and at least second chromosome in the maternal sample to obtain an odds ratio of the disomic model versus the aneuploid model; and

c) assisting in a communication of the computed risk score for the fetal aneuploidy to the pregnant female.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

providing an adjusted odds that the first fetal chromosome is aneuploid, the adjusted odds being determined using data on prior risk of aneuploidy for at least the first fetal chromosome based on extrinsic characteristics.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the data on prior risk of aneuploidy comprises information related to maternal age.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the data on prior risk of aneuploidy comprises information related to gestational age.

10. The method of claim 6 , wherein the pregnant female is at least 10 weeks pregnant.

11. A method for computing a risk score for fetal aneuploidy in a maternal sample from a pregnant female, comprising:

a) obtaining the maternal sample from the pregnant female;

b) executing, by the fetal aneuploidy processing system, a process for computing the risk score for the fetal aneuploidy in the maternal sample, the maternal sample comprising a first and at least a second chromosome in an assay, the steps comprising:

i) comparing at least one hundred polymorphic loci of a set of polymorphic loci in the maternal sample that are different in maternal DNA and fetal DNA to measure a fetal proportion and a chromosome dosage for the first and at least the second chromosome;

ii) calculating a disomic model for a first fetal chromosome using an expected chromosome dosage of the first chromosome if the first fetal chromosome were disomic;

iii) multiplying the expected chromosome dosage of the first chromosome by an expected change in chromosome dosage if the first fetal chromosome were aneuploid based on the measured fetal proportion in the maternal sample, to create an aneuploid model reflecting an expected representation of the first fetal chromosome if the first fetal chromosome were aneuploid in the maternal sample;

iv) comparing the measured chromosome dosage for the first and at least second chromosome in the maternal sample to obtain an odds ratio of the disomic model versus the aneuploid model; and

v) computing the risk score for fetal aneuploidy of the first fetal chromosome based on the odds ratio; and

c) assisting in a communication of the computed risk score for the fetal aneuploidy to the pregnant female.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

providing an adjusted odds that the first fetal chromosome is aneuploid, the adjusted odds being determined using data on prior risk of aneuploidy for at least the first fetal chromosome based on extrinsic characteristics.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the data on prior risk of aneuploidy comprises information related to maternal age.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the data on prior risk of aneuploidy comprises information related to gestational age.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the pregnant female is at least 10 weeks pregnant.

16. A method for calculating an odds for a fetal aneuploidy in a maternal sample from a pregnant female, comprising:

a) obtaining the maternal sample from the pregnant female;

b) executing, by the fetal aneuploidy processing system, a process for calculating the odds for the fetal aneuploidy in the maternal sample, the steps comprising:

i) measuring a fetal proportion and a chromosome dosage for two or more chromosomes in a simultaneous assay, wherein the fetal proportion is measured by interrogating a set of polymorphic loci in the maternal sample and comparing at least one hundred polymorphic loci of the set of polymorphic loci that are different in maternal DNA and fetal DNA;

ii) calculating a first likelihood that a first fetal chromosome is disomic using an expected chromosome dosage of a first chromosome if the first fetal chromosome were disomic;

iii) calculating a second likelihood that a first fetal chromosome were aneuploid using the expected chromosome dosage of the first chromosome if the first fetal chromosome were aneuploid adjusted for the measured fetal proportion in the maternal sample to account for an expected representation of the first chromosome if it were aneuploid;

iv) comparing the measured chromosome dosage for the two or more chromosomes in the maternal sample to the first value of likelihood that a first fetal chromosome is disomic and to the second value of likelihood that a first fetal chromosome is aneuploidy; and

v) computing the odds for the fetal aneuploidy for the first fetal chromosome based on the comparing; and

c) assisting in a communication of the computed odds for the fetal aneuploidy to the pregnant female.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

providing an adjusted odds that the first fetal chromosome is aneuploid, the adjusted odds being determined using data on prior risk of aneuploidy for at least the first fetal chromosome based on extrinsic characteristics.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the data on prior risk of aneuploidy comprises information related to maternal age.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the data on prior risk of aneuploidy comprises information related to gestational age.

20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the pregnant female is at least 10 weeks pregnant.