I heard my positive NIPS result may mean I have cancer? Is this true?

NIPS has detected a small number of cases of maternal cancer during pregnancy. However, these results look very different from a standard positive NIPS result. Often, these results come back positive for many chromosome conditions, giving both the laboratory and the genetic counselor an idea that something beyond the pregnancy may be going on. For example, these results will often say a baby has trisomy 18 AND monosomy 13, while the baby looks perfectly healthy on ultrasound. If you have had a positive NIPS result that turned out to be a false positive, you should not worry about an increased risk for cancer. Fortunately, most laboratories now can tell when an NIPS result is indicating the possibility of maternal cancer, and this would be discussed with you along with your results.