Term: variant of uncertain significance

Pronunciation: (VAYR-ee-unt … un-SER-tin sig-NIH-fih-kunts)

Description:

A change in a gene’s DNA sequence that has an unknown effect on a person’s health. There is usually not enough information about a variant of uncertain significance to know whether it increases a person’s risk of developing a disease, such as cancer. Also called unclassified variant, variant of unknown significance, and VUS.