NOW THE RESULTS OF A TOUGH
MEDICAL CENTER STUDY JUST
RELEASED TODAY.
CAN YOU SAY MAMA?
Reporter: OWEN ISN'T TALKING
YET, BUT INCREDIBLY SHE HAS
ALREADY TOLD DOCTORS A LOT
ABOUT THE HEALTH OF HER
MOTHER, MARIN MEJIA.
I WAS ABOUT 10 WEEKS
PREGNANT WHEN THE TEST CAME
BACK ABNORMAL.
Reporter: IT WAS A NEW
NONINVASIVE PRENATAL SCREEN TO
SEE IF A FETUS HAS CHROMOSOME
AB NOR MALL TEE.
IT CAME BACK ABNORMAL FOR
ALL FOUR OF THE THINGS THEY
SCREENED FOR.
SO MY DOCTOR HAD NEVER SEEN
THAT BEFORE.
Reporter: THE IMMEDIATE
CONCERN?
WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE
FETUS.
FOLLOW-UP TESTS SHOWED OWEN
WAS GROWING HEALTHY IN THE
WOMB.
ATTENTION TURNED QUICKLY TO
MARIN.
HER TESTS SHOWED SOMETHING
ELSE.
I HAD ANAL CANCER WHICH WAS
SHOCKING.
I HAD NO IDEA THAT THIS WAS
EVEN A POSSIBILITY.
Reporter: MARIN'S RARE RESULTS
CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF
RESEARCHERS AT TUFTS MEDICAL
CENTER.
THEIR STUDY ANALYZED EIGHT
WOMEN WITH ABNORMAL TESTS, BUT
HEALTHY BABIES.
THE DISCREPANCY TURNED OUT
TO BE BECAUSE WE LATER FOUND
OUT THE MOTHERS HAD CANCER.
Reporter: NOT JUST ANAL
CANCER, BUT CO LOW COLORECTAL,
LYMPHOMA AND LEUKEMIA.
THE TEST IS NOT DESIGNED TO
DETECT CANCER.
IT IS DESIGNED TO DETECT
CHROMOSOME IMBALANCES OR DNA
IMBALANCE INFORMATION.
Reporter: AND YET THE STUDY
SHOWS THE TEST IS EXTREMELY
SENSITIVE.
RAISING RED FLAGS NOT JUST FOR
THE FETUS, BUT FOR THE MOTHERS
TOO.
IT WAS VERY SURPRISING THAT
EVEN VERY SMALL TUMORS WOULD
BE RELEASING ENOUGH DNA TO
CAUSE THIS FALSE POSITIVE
RESULT.
Reporter: MARIN AGREED TO
DELIVER OWEN EARLY AT 32 WEEKS
IN ORDER TO START CHEMOTHERAPY
AND RADIATION.
MY OB/GYN HAS SAID FROM THE
VERY BEGINNING, SHE SAID "THIS
BABY SAVED YOUR LIFE" AND I
BELIEVE THAT.
I DON'T THINK I WOULD HAVE
GONE TO THE DOCTOR UNTIL IT
WAS POTENTIALLY TOO LATE.
Reporter: REMARK BELIEVE A.
MORE THAN TWO MILLION WOMEN
HAVE TAKEN THE PRENATAL TEST
SINCE IT BECAME AVAILABLE IN
2013.
RESEARCHERS SAY ANYONE WHO
