The short answer
Genetic labs sort gene changes (variants) into five standard groups: benign, likely benign, uncertain significance, likely pathogenic and pathogenic. Ask your care team or a genetic counselor what your report means for you.
Labs use five standard groups for inherited gene changes.
They are benign, likely benign, uncertain significance, likely pathogenic and pathogenic.
Ask a genetic counselor what benign or likely benign means for your result.
A report without a harmful change does not rule out cancer risk from family history. Ask your care team.
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The short version
A variant is a change in a gene. When a lab tests your inherited genes, it sorts any changes it finds into groups. The NIH ClinVar database lists five standard groups:
- Benign
- Likely benign
- Uncertain significance
- Likely pathogenic
- Pathogenic
ClinVar notes that some labs add extra tiers for their own use.
What benign and likely benign mean
Benign and likely benign are two of the five ClinVar groups. Ask your care team or a genetic counselor what these labels mean for your result.
It is about one change, not your whole risk
A likely benign result is about that one gene change. Your risk also depends on your personal and family history. NCI notes that a negative result can be uninformative when a family has a strong history of cancer. Ask your care team what this means for your screening.
Results can be updated
As more is learned, labs can move variants to a different group. NCI notes that a variant of uncertain significance is most often reclassified as benign. Ask how you would hear about an update.
What to ask
Ask which group each change is in, whether it changes your care, and whether your family history still matters. A genetic counselor can help. Your team can explain what your report means for you.
Sources
Common questions
What are the five groups?
The standard groups, listed by the NIH ClinVar database, are benign, likely benign, uncertain significance, likely pathogenic and pathogenic. Some labs add extra tiers for their own use.
Does likely benign mean I have no cancer risk?
No. It is about that one gene change. Your risk also depends on your personal and family history. NCI notes that a negative result can be uninformative when a family has a strong history of cancer. Ask your care team what applies to you.
Can a result change later?
Classifications can change as more is learned. NCI notes that a variant of uncertain significance is most often reclassified as benign. Ask your lab or counselor how you would hear about any update.
Why does my report list a change at all if it is benign?
Ask your genetic counselor to walk you through why each change is listed and what it means.
Questions to ask your doctor
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Plain-language explanation of the published sources cited on this page. AI-assisted, source-checked, not clinician-reviewed.
Sources last checked: 2026-10-02 what this meansLast updated: 2026-10-02Next planned review: 2027-09-27
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Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and then compared with the sources listed on it, looking for statements those sources do not back up. That check is not a sentence-by-sentence record and can miss errors. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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