Folklore

Documentation / Variant Analysis / Combining Rules

ACMG/AMP Evidence Combining Rules

Folklore groups applied criteria by pathogenic or benign direction and by evidence strength. It then evaluates the published ACMG/AMP combinations in a deterministic order, with documented ClinGen strength modifications where applicable.

Rule Families

Pathogenic

P1: 1 Very Strong + at least 1 Strong

P2: 1 Very Strong + at least 2 Moderate

P3: 1 Very Strong + 1 Moderate + 1 Supporting

P4: 1 Very Strong + at least 2 Supporting

P5: at least 2 Strong

P6: 1 Strong + at least 3 Moderate

P7: 1 Strong + 2 Moderate + at least 2 Supporting

P8: 1 Strong + 1 Moderate + at least 4 Supporting

Likely Pathogenic

LP1: 1 Very Strong + 1 Moderate

LP1b: PVS1 or PVS1_Strong + 1 Supporting when an applicable specification downgrades evidence strength

LP2: 1 Strong + 1 or 2 Moderate

LP3: 1 Strong + at least 2 Supporting

LP4: at least 3 Moderate

LP5: 2 Moderate + at least 2 Supporting

LP6: 1 Moderate + at least 4 Supporting

Benign and Likely Benign

B1: 1 Stand-alone benign criterion

B2: at least 2 Strong benign criteria

LB1: 1 Strong benign + 1 Supporting benign

LB2: at least 2 Supporting benign criteria

Safety Guards

A matching evidence count is necessary but not always sufficient. Folklore can hold a result at VUS when evidence is contradictory, when inheritance does not support the proposed mechanism, when a profile relies only on limited computational evidence, or when required clinical context is absent. These guards prevent a mathematically matching combination from being presented as stronger than the available evidence supports.

No hidden point total

The current nuclear classifier records criteria and strength levels and applies rule combinations. It does not expose a general per-variant Bayesian point total as the source of the final class. Calibrated predictor thresholds may modify evidence strength, but the displayed class is produced by the rule hierarchy and its safety checks.