Identifying rare, medically-relevant genetic variation in a diverse population: opportunities and pitfalls

ABSTRACT Purpose To evaluate the effectiveness and specificity of population-based genomic screening in Alabama. Methods The Alabama Genomic Health Initiative (AGHI) has enrolled and evaluated 5,369 participants for the presence of pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants using the Illumina Global Screening Array (GSA), with validation of all P/LP variants via Sanger sequencing in a CLIA-certified laboratory before return of results. Results Among 131 variants identified by the GSA that were evaluated by Sanger sequencing, 67 (51%) were false positives (FP). For 39 of the 67 FP variants, a benign/likely benign variant was present at or near the targeted P/LP variant. Importantly, African-Americans were significantly enriched for FP variants, likely due to a higher rate of non-targeted alternative alleles close to array-targeted P/LP variants. Conclusion In AGHI, we have implemented an array-based process to screen for highly penetrant genetic variants in actionable disease genes. We demonstrate the need for clinical validation of array-identified variants in direct-to-consumer or population testing, especially for diverse populations.