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Looking up your own variant in ClinVar | CION Cancer Clinics
ClinVar is a free public database where laboratories around the world share how they have classified gene variants. You can search it yourself, but what you find is a summary of other laboratories' opinions, not a reading of your own result. Entries often disagree, and Indian families are under-represented. This page explains how to search it carefully, what each part of an entry means, and why the answer still belongs with your counsellor. At CION Cancer Clinics in Hyderabad, our oncologists review your family history with you and guide you to the right genetic counselling and testing.
NG
Medically reviewed by Dr. Naresh GunduConsultant Medical Oncologist · MBBS, DNB (Internal Medicine), DM (Medical Oncology, AIIMS) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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On this page
- Can I look up my own variant in ClinVar?
- What will I see on a ClinVar entry?
- How do you search for your variant without getting it wrong?
- The words you will meet, in plain language
- What ClinVar can tell you, and what it cannot
- What this page cannot tell you
- Four things people assume after searching ClinVar
- Common questions about ClinVar and looking up a variant
The short answer
Can I look up my own variant in ClinVar?
Yes. ClinVar is free, public and open to anyone. It is run by the United States National Library of Medicine, and laboratories around the world send it their classifications of gene variants. What you find there is a record of other laboratories' opinions, which is useful background but not a reading of your own result.
What a variant is, in plain terms
A variant is a spelling difference in one gene, compared with a standard human reference. Your report names the gene and gives the exact change as a short code. That code is what you would type into ClinVar to see whether other laboratories have met the same change before.
Why it can mislead as easily as it helps
Different laboratories sometimes classify the same variant differently, and older entries may not have been updated. A single typing error can bring up a neighbouring variant with a completely different meaning. Indian families are also under-represented in these databases, so a variant common in Telangana may have few entries or none at all.
Use ClinVar to prepare questions, not to reach a conclusion.Reading an entry
What will I see on a ClinVar entry?
Each entry gathers every submission about one variant. Four parts matter most.
The classification
Pathogenic, likely pathogenic, uncertain significance, likely benign or benign. These are the same five labels your laboratory uses. If several laboratories disagree, the entry says so.
The review status
A star rating that shows how much scrutiny the classification has had. More stars mean more agreement or review by an expert panel. No stars means a single laboratory's view with little supporting detail.
Treat with more caution
- Entries with no stars
- Entries marked as conflicting
Who submitted it, and when
Each laboratory's submission is listed with a date. An old submission may reflect what was known years ago, before newer evidence changed the picture.
The condition it was assessed for
A variant is classified for a named condition. The same change may be listed against more than one, and the classification can differ between them.
Check the condition matches the reason you were tested.Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistSearching carefully
How do you search for your variant without getting it wrong?
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Copy the exact details from your report
You need the gene name, the c. code for the change and, ideally, the transcript number that begins with NM. Copy them character by character, because a single wrong letter points to a different variant.
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Search ClinVar with the gene and the code
Type the gene name and the c. code together. If nothing appears, try the transcript number with the code. No result does not mean the variant is harmless. It may simply not have been submitted.
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Confirm you have the right entry
Check the gene, the code and the transcript all match your report exactly. Neighbouring variants in the same gene can look almost identical and carry very different meanings.
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Note the classification, stars and dates
Write down what you see, including any disagreement between laboratories. Do not read the long scientific evidence sections unless you are comfortable with that language.
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Take your notes to your counsellor
If ClinVar says something different from your report, that is a good question to raise. Your counsellor can ask your laboratory why its view differs and whether it plans to review it.
On the ClinVar page
The words you will meet, in plain language
- Submitter
- The laboratory or research group that sent in a classification. One variant may have many submitters.
- Review status
- How much checking a classification has had, shown as stars. It is a measure of confidence, not of danger.
- Conflicting interpretations
- Submitters disagree about whether the variant is harmful. This is common and is one reason to rely on your counsellor.
- Expert panel
- A group of specialists who review a gene's variants together. Their classification carries the most weight in ClinVar.
- Transcript
- The reference version of the gene used for numbering. Two transcripts can give the same change different numbers.
- Germline
- Present from birth in every cell. ClinVar also holds tumour findings, so check which kind an entry describes.
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Side by side
What ClinVar can tell you, and what it cannot
ClinVar can tell you
ClinVar cannot tell you
How other laboratories classified this variant
What it means for you and your family
Whether laboratories agree or disagree
Which laboratory is right
When the classifications were made
What screening or treatment you need
Whether an expert panel has reviewed it
Your personal cancer risk
Being straight with you
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you what your variant means. What your specific variant means is a question for the counsellor who ordered the test. They weigh the database alongside your family history, your own diagnosis and evidence your laboratory may hold that has never been made public.
It cannot settle a disagreement between laboratories
If ClinVar and your report disagree, neither page nor database can tell you who is right. Your counsellor can contact the laboratory, ask for its evidence and, if needed, arrange a review. Changing screening or treatment on the strength of a database entry alone is never safe.
Who this does not apply to
Most people do not need to search ClinVar at all. If your report is negative and names no variant, there is nothing to look up. If your test was on a tumour sample to guide treatment, the question is different, and it is covered on our targeted therapy pages.
If searching has left you more worried than before, stop and bring your notes to your counsellor.Commonly believed
Four things people assume after searching ClinVar
"If ClinVar says pathogenic, my report must be wrong."
Not necessarily. The entry may be old, from a single laboratory, or about a different condition. Your laboratory may have newer evidence. A disagreement is a question to raise, not a verdict.
"No entry at all means my variant is harmless."
It only means no laboratory has submitted it. That is more likely for Indian families, whose variants are less well recorded. Absence from the database is not evidence either way.
"Lots of stars means lots of danger."
Stars measure how carefully a classification was reviewed, not how harmful the variant is. A benign variant can have many stars, and a harmful one can have none.
"The research papers linked there will explain my risk."
Papers describe studies of other families, often abroad and with small numbers. They rarely translate directly into one person's risk. Your counsellor reads them with that in mind.
Questions we are asked
Common questions about ClinVar and looking up a variant
Is ClinVar free to use?
Yes. It is a free public website and you do not need an account to search it. It is written for scientists and clinicians, so the language is technical. Nothing you search is linked to your name, but avoid pasting your full report into any other website.
Does ClinVar know my result?
No. It holds classifications of variants, not personal results. Laboratories may submit a variant they found in someone, but never with that person's name or details. Your own report stays with your laboratory and your doctors.
My variant is marked as conflicting. What does that mean for me?
It means laboratories have not agreed yet. Your own report's classification is what your care should rest on, and your counsellor can explain why your laboratory chose it. Ask how you will be told if the view changes later.
Should I search before or after my counselling appointment?
After is usually better. Your counsellor can show you the entry, explain what it says and answer questions straight away. Searching alone the night before an appointment tends to raise worries that one short conversation could have settled.
Can ClinVar change my variant's classification?
ClinVar itself does not reclassify anything. It records what laboratories and expert panels submit. When a laboratory updates its view, the entry changes. Your own report only changes when your laboratory issues an amended one.
Are there other databases like ClinVar?
Yes, including gene-specific databases and population databases that show how common a variant is. They are even more technical. Your counsellor and laboratory use several together, which is why their view can differ from a single ClinVar entry.
Can my family members search for the variant too?
They can, but what they find applies only if they carry the same variant, which needs its own test. Share the report rather than the search results, and let them speak to a counsellor before deciding anything.
Why do Indian variants have fewer entries?
Most genetic testing and research so far has involved people of European descent. Variants seen mainly in South Asian families are less often submitted. That is slowly changing as more Indian laboratories contribute, but gaps remain today.
Your Specialists
Meet CION's oncologists. Bring your family history or genetic report to them.
Our medical oncologists see people with a strong family history of cancer, arrange genetic counselling and testing where it fits, and plan the checks that follow.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
MBBS(Gold Medal), DNB(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Gold Medal)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla
MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
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Sources
- ClinVar (NCBI) — ClinVar: public archive of variant classifications
- ClinVar (NCBI) — About ClinVar
- ClinVar (NCBI) — Review status in ClinVar
- MedlinePlus Genetics — What do the results of genetic tests mean?
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
Why two labs can classify the same variant differentlyThe reason ClinVar entries so often conflictShould you search for your variant online?Weighing the risks before you start searchingReading variant nomenclature: c. and p. notationGetting the code exactly right before you searchVariant reclassificationWhat happens when a classification changes years later
Talk to us
Found something online that does not match your report?
Tell us what your report says and what you found, and we will arrange for a genetic counsellor to look at both with you. One helpline serves every CION centre.