Whole exome sequencing (WES) is a next generation sequencing method that includes the protein-coding sequence of the genome. WES covers >99% of sequence variants, and several studies have demonstrated that >98% of relevant sequence variants identified on targeted panels were identified on WES. Most clinical laboratories use the same sequencing methods for WES and gene panels. Thus, the additional diagnostic yield of panel sequencing after WES is likely to be low.
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Kong SW, et al. Measuring coverage and accuracy of whole-exome sequencing in clinical context. Genetics in Medicine. 2018 Dec;20(12):1617-1626. PMID: 29789557.
LaDuca H, et al. Exome sequencing covers >98% of mutations identified on targeted next generation sequencing panels. PLoS One. 2017; 12(2): e0170843. PMID: 28152038.
Sun Y, et al. Next-generation diagnostics: gene panel, exome, or whole genome? Hum Mutat. 2015 Jun;36(6):648-55. PMID: 25772376.