Cystic fibrosis is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder that most commonly occurs in the Caucasian population, with an incidence of approximately 1 in 3,500 live births. The disease develops in children who carry two pathological genetic variant in the CFTR gene on chromosome 7 and affects multiple organs, including the lungs, pancreas, gastrointestinal tract, liver, and reproductive system, resulting in a shorter life expectancy for patients.
The aim of this master's thesis was to implement and verify methods to be used in the national neonatal screening program for cystic fibrosis in Slovenia as the first (measuring immunoreactive trypsinogen – IRT) and the second-tier method (measuring pancreatitis-associated protein – PAP). To achieve this, we determined the precision (within and between series) and trueness of the DELFIA® Neonatal IRT and mucoPAP-F methods using a 5 x 5 model. For the DELFIA® Neonatal IRT method, we calculated the coefficients of variation for three control samples, which ranged from 4.6 % to 5.8 % within series and from 1.9 % to 5.0 % between series. Trueness was assessed by the bias of the average measurements against the target value, with biases ranging from 1.1 % to 2.2 % for all three controls. We then evaluated the precision and trueness of the mucoPAP-F method using the same procedure. The coefficients of variation for control samples within series ranged from 14.2 % to 19.2 %, and from 3.4 % to 10.8 % between series, while biases ranged from 1% to 12%.
In the final step, we determined the cut-off values for IRT by analyzing 2793 neonatal samples. The 99th percentile, corresponding to 61.4 ng/ml, was selected as the cut-off value for referring a patient to the second-tier screening. An additional cut-off at the 99.9th percentile (114.4 ng/ml) was set for very high values, where patients would be directly referred for confirmatory diagnostics. Among all the newborns analyzed, three had IRT levels above this value. In one of these cases, a pathological homozygous CFTR variant was subsequently detected, confirming cystic fibrosis. The results demonstrated that both methods meet the appropriate analytical criteria and are suitable for clinical use. Neonatal screening for cystic fibrosis in Slovenia will enable early detection of the disease in children before the onset of clinical symptoms, allowing for immediate treatment and consequently a better quality of life and longer life expectancy for patients.
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