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Whole Genome Sequencing for the Diagnosis of Rare Disorders

Campos Coelho, A. V.; Sales de Albuquerque, R.; dos Santos Gomes, C.; Bandeira do Nascimento Junior, J.; Santos de Oliveira, G.; Silva Moura, L. M.; Souto Mofatto, L.; Muniz Guedes, R. L.; Araujo Sequeira Barreiro, R.; Pinheiro Caraciolo, M.; de Andrade Oliveira, A. P.; Barbosa Teixeira, A. C.; Mascaro Cordeiro de Azevedo, B.; Dias Carlos, C.; Santos de Santana, L.; Cadena da Matta, M.; Martinelli Lima, M.; Bengala Zurro, N.; Yoshiko Yamada, R.; Pedigone Cintra, V.; Pereira Campilongo, G.; Borges Cherulli Colichio, G.; Martins Ribeiro da Silva, R.; Robledo DAngioli Costa Quaio, C.; Araujo More

2025-04-27 genetic and genomic medicine
10.1101/2025.04.25.25326373 medRxiv
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BackgroundWhole-Genome Sequencing (WGS) and Whole-Transcriptome Sequencing (WTS) have emerged as transformative tools in the diagnosis of rare diseases with complex phenotypes. These technologies enable deep analysis of the genome and RNA expression, uncovering structural, intronic, non-coding, and mitochondrial variants that traditional methods might miss, thus facilitating the understanding of gene function and regulation. MethodsWe enrolled 8966 patients with suspected rare diseases or hereditary cancer risk syndromes from 21 centers throughout Brazil. Their genomes were sequenced with short, paired-end reads, and diagnostic reports were provided for 7614 of these patients. ResultsThe overall diagnostic yield was 35.8%, with an additional 5.6% of all Positive reports including gains from WGS compared to other diagnostic tests. In patients with pathogenic/likely pathogenic copy number or structural variants, WGS provided a 10.2% increase in diagnostic yield. Almost 1900 variant/phenotype interpretations were submitted to ClinVar. ConclusionWGS and WTS are proving to be invaluable resources for shortening the diagnostic odyssey of patients with rare diseases, providing crucial genomic diagnostics, and enriching genetic databases with variant interpretations from underrepresented populations. These technologies have the potential to significantly enhance the precision of healthcare in genetically diverse populations. Key Points for NEJM Editors and ReviewersO_LIScope: Largest Brazilian rare disease-focused sequencing project to date. C_LIO_LIFindings: A 35.8% diagnostic yield with notable additional detection of structural, deep intronic, non-coding, and mitochondrial variants. C_LIO_LIImpact: Shortens diagnostic odyssey for patients, enriches ClinVar with almost 1900 variant interpretations from underrepresented populations, and demonstrates potential cost-effectiveness of integrating WGS into public healthcare. These interim results underscore how national WGS programs can facilitate precision medicine, especially in genetically diverse and previously underrepresented populations. C_LI

Published in Human Genetics and Genomics Advances (predicted rank #9) · training set

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