VCV Statements

Overview

The vcv bundle section contains one record per variation-level aggregate classification. Each record is a Statement that aggregates individual SCV submissions into a hierarchical summary — combining classifications across submission levels to produce a single variation-level result.

VCV statements use #/ references for propositions, contributing SCVs, and lower-level VCV groupings. They are produced by the VCV Procedures.

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Record Structure

Each record is a Statement with the following top-level fields:

Field	Type	Description
id	string	VCV layer ID — e.g., VCV000012582.63-G-PATH-CP
type	string	Always Statement
proposition	string	#/proposition/{id} reference to the aggregate proposition
classification	object	MappableConcept — the aggregate classification label. See Classification
strength	object	MappableConcept — the aggregate evidence strength. See Strength
direction	string	supports, disputes, or neutral — derived from the aggregate classification
confidence	object	Concept struct with conceptType: "Confidence" and name (the submission level label, e.g., criteria provided, expert panel)
extensions	array of Extension	ClinVar-specific aggregate metadata (0..*). See Extensions
hasEvidenceLines	array	#/evidenceLine/ references to contributing and non-contributing evidence. See Evidence Lines

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Classification

The classification field is a MappableConcept with the aggregate classification label:

{
  "conceptType": "Classification",
  "name": "Pathogenic/Likely pathogenic",
  "extensions": [
    {"name": "conflictingExplanation", "value": "Pathogenic(3); Likely pathogenic(2)"}
  ]
}

The extensions array includes a conflictingExplanation when multiple contributing submissions have different clinical significance values. This extension is only present for CP-level aggregations with conflicts.

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Strength

The strength field is a MappableConcept derived from the aggregate classification:

{
  "conceptType": "Strength",
  "name": "Definitive"
}

Classification	Strength
Pathogenic, Benign, Oncogenic	Definitive
Likely pathogenic, Likely benign, Likely Oncogenic	Likely
Tier I (strong clinical significance)	Strong
Tier II (potential clinical significance)	Potential
Tier IV (benign/likely benign)	Likely
Uncertain, Conflicting, Tier III	null (omitted)

For single-SCV aggregations, the strength is passed through from the contributing SCV.

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Proposition

VCV propositions are stored in the proposition bundle section. Each VCV statement references its proposition via #/proposition/{id}.

A resolved VCV proposition contains:

Field	Type	Description
type	string	Proposition type matching the underlying SCVs (e.g., VariantPathogenicityProposition)
id	string	Proposition ID (e.g., VCV000012582-G-PATH-CP)
subjectVariant	string	#/variation/clinvar:{id} reference
predicate	string	Predicate matching the underlying SCVs (e.g., isCausalFor)
objectCondition	array	Unique condition references from contributing SCVs (#/condition/ and/or #/conditionSet/)

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Evidence Lines

Each VCV statement contains hasEvidenceLines — an array of #/evidenceLine/ JSON pointer references to evidence line records in the evidenceLine bundle section:

{
  "hasEvidenceLines": [
    "#/evidenceLine/VCV000012582.63-G-PATH-CP.contributing",
    "#/evidenceLine/VCV000012582.63-G-PATH-CP.non-contributing"
  ]
}

Each referenced evidence line record contains:

Field	Type	Description
type	string	Always EvidenceLine
directionOfEvidenceProvided	string	supports or neutral
strengthOfEvidenceProvided	object	MappableConcept — Contributing or Non-contributing
evidenceItems	array	#/scv/ references (at classification layer) or #/vcv/ references (at priority/aggregate layers)

Contributing evidence lines use directionOfEvidenceProvided: "supports". Non-contributing evidence lines (lower-ranked submission levels) use directionOfEvidenceProvided: "neutral".

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Extensions

Extensions carry aggregate metadata not part of the GA4GH VA-Spec statement model. Each extension follows the GA4GH Extension structure: { "name": "<name>", "value": <value> }. Extensions appear at two structural levels — on the top-level Statement and on the classification object.

See VCV Extensions (Pipeline) for details on how these extensions are built during pipeline processing.

Statement Extensions

Extension Name	Value Type	Description
clinvarReviewStatus	string	The aggregate review status derived from the submission level and aggregation outcome. Always present. Values: practice guideline, reviewed by expert panel, criteria provided, single submitter, criteria provided, multiple submitters, no conflicts, criteria provided, conflicting classifications, no assertion criteria provided, no classification provided, flagged submission.

Classification Extensions

Extensions on the classification MappableConcept within the Statement.

Extension Name	Value Type	Description
conflictingExplanation	string	A formatted breakdown of conflicting classification counts (e.g., Pathogenic(3); Likely pathogenic(2)). Present only when the classification is conflicting — multiple distinct significance values exist for a conflict-detectable proposition type.

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Layer Hierarchy

VCV statements are built through a multi-layer aggregation hierarchy. The top-level output is the Aggregate Contribution layer; lower layers appear in the evidenceItems of higher layers.

Layer	ID Format	Aggregates By	Scope
Classification	{VCV}.{ver}-{group}-{PROP}-{level}[-{TIER}]	Classification label within submission level	All
Priority	{VCV}.{ver}-{group}-{PROP}-{level}	Tier priority within submission level	Somatic only
Aggregate Contribution	{VCV}.{ver}-{group}-{PROP}	Submission level (winner-takes-all)	All

Submission level ranking at the Aggregate Contribution layer is PG > EP > CP > NOCP > NOCL > FLAG, with only matching submission levels aggregating together at the Classification layer.

See Aggregation Rules for detailed submission level logic and VCV Procedures for implementation details.

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Examples

Annotated JSONC examples of VCV statement records are available in the repository:

• VCV statement examples