POLD1 encodes the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase delta, an enzyme that carries both DNA synthesis and proofreading (3' to 5' exonuclease) activities and is essential for accurate DNA replication and repair. Germline mutations in its exonuclease domain cause polyposis and predispose people to colorectal, endometrial, and possibly brain cancers. In cancer, POLD1 defects impair replication fidelity, leading to the accumulation of many mutations (an ultra-mutated phenotype) that may make tumors more responsive to immunotherapy, though somatic POLD1 mutations are rare.
This variant
POLD1 encodes the catalytic, proofreading subunit of DNA polymerase delta, and loss of its function is an established disease mechanism for the gene's cancer predisposition. A Likely Pathogenic classification for this NMD-predicted frameshift therefore places it in that loss-of-function pathway, consistent with the colorectal and endometrial cancer associations described above.
Transcript
NM_002691.4
HGVS · transcript:coding
NM_002691.4:c.2959del
GRCh38
chr19:50416608 AG>A
GRCh37
chr19:50919865 AG>A
BasisGeneric ACMG/AMP 2015 rules applied in the absence of a POLD1-specific framework; PVS1 (Very Strong) + PM2 (Supporting) combine to Likely Pathogenic per the ClinGen SVI 2020 PM2-downgrade addendum.▾
Generic ACMG/AMP 2015 rules applied in the absence of a POLD1-specific framework; PVS1 (Very Strong) + PM2 (Supporting) combine to Likely Pathogenic per the ClinGen SVI 2020 PM2-downgrade addendum.
Classification rationale
PVS1PM2Likely Pathogenic
POLD1 c.2959delframeshift · exon 24
PVS1 (Very Strong): frameshift p.(Asp987ThrfsTer58) introduces a premature stop 58 codons downstream, predicted to trigger nonsense-mediated decay. PM2 (Supporting): overall allele frequency 5.77e-06 in gnomAD v4.1, far below the 0.1% threshold, with no homozygotes. Overall: Likely Pathogenic — PVS1 (Very Strong) plus PM2 (Supporting) under the ClinGen SVI 2020 PM2-downgrade addendum (PVS1 + 1 supporting).
PVS1 + PM2→Likely Pathogenic
Gene diagram
· NM_002691.4 · variants mapped to exon structure
POLD1NM_002691.4
Fetching transcript structure from UCSC…
Exons
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Transcript span
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Strand
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Variants mapped
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Source
UCSC ncbiRefSeqCurated
All variants in POLD1—click a row to locate it on the plot · use the link column to open its page
Variant ↕
Protein
Location
Classification
Link
Applied criteria · 2 applied · 15 assessed
MetEvidence satisfies this criterion.
Not metEvaluated against available evidence; threshold not reached.
Not assessedApplies in principle, but no evidence was found to evaluate it.
N/ADoesn't apply to this variant type.
Applied · 2
Strength Supporting Moderate Strong Very strong
✓
PVS1very strongreviewPathogenic
Met (Very Strong): frameshift creates a premature stop codon 58 codons downstream, predicted to trigger nonsense-mediated decay.
pvs1_gene_context.json: targeted germline literature review classified POLD1 loss-of-function as an eligible germline disease mechanism ('lof_mechanism_supported': true, 'pvs1_gene_gate': 'eligible'), enabling generic PVS1 framework application in the absence of an official CSPEC/VCEP source.pvs1_variant_assessment.json: classifies NM_002691.4:c.2959del as consequence_class='frameshift'/variant_bucket='frameshift', cites the ClinGen SVI PVS1 recommendations (PMC6185798) as the governing generic framework, and flags downgrade_considerations around confirming transcript relevance, NMD escape, and exon-level biological importance before finalizing full-strength PVS1.case_summary.json normalization block confirms the predicted protein consequence as NP_002682.2:p.(Asp987ThrfsTer58) (single-nucleotide deletion causing a frameshift with a new stop 58 codons downstream), truncating the protein well before its native 1107-residue length.
Met (Supporting): allele frequency 5.77e-06 in gnomAD v4.1, far below the 0.1% threshold. Flagged for human review: a ClinVar submitter noted gnomAD frequency data at this position may be unreliable.
gnomAD v4.1 reports 9/1,558,756 alleles, AF 5.77384e-06, zero homozygotes, and grpmax FAF 9.36e-06; the highest subgroup AF is 5.53301e-05 in Finnish individuals.gnomAD v2.1 reports 9/162,082 alleles, AF 5.55274e-05, zero homozygotes, and grpmax FAF 1.988e-05; the highest subgroup AF is 2.67762e-04 in Finnish individuals.The variant is absent from gnomAD-Canada v1.0.
This variant is present in gnomAD v4.1 (AF= 5.77384e-06; MAF= 0.00058%, 9/1558756 alleles, homozygotes = 0) and has highest observed frequency in the European (Finnish) population (AF= 5.53301e-05; MAF= 0.00553%, 3/54220 alleles, homozygotes = 0); grpmax FAF= 9.36e-06.
v2.1
This variant is present in gnomAD v2.1 (AF= 5.55274e-05; MAF= 0.00555%, 9/162082 alleles, homozygotes = 0) and has highest observed frequency in the European (Finnish) population (AF= 0.000267762; MAF= 0.02678%, 3/11204 alleles, homozygotes = 0); grpmax FAF= 1.988e-05.
🇨🇦 CA
Absent from gnomAD-Canada v1.0.
Allele frequency by ancestry
three datasets · side by side
gnomAD v4.1
0.00058%
· 9 / 1,558,756
0 hom · FAF 0.00094%
European (Finnish)
3 / 54,220
0.0055%
South Asian
3 / 85,110
0.0035%
European (non-Finnish)
3 / 1,155,458
0.00026%
+ 7 not observed (Remaining individuals, Admixed American, Amish, East Asian, Middle Eastern, Ashkenazi Jewish, African/African American)
gnomAD v2.1
0.0056%
· 9 / 162,082
0 hom · FAF 0.002%
European (Finnish)
3 / 11,204
0.027%
Remaining individuals
1 / 4,536
0.022%
European (non-Finnish)
4 / 67,258
0.0059%
South Asian
1 / 23,820
0.0042%
+ 4 not observed (African/African American, Admixed American, Ashkenazi Jewish, East Asian)
OncoKB did not identify variant-specific reviewed functional evidence for this variant; gene-level curated context is available for reviewer follow-up. POLD1, a DNA polymerase, is infrequently altered by mutation in cancer.
Triaged references · 3 PMIDs not cited in assessment
23263490 ↗Germline mutations affecting the proofreading domains of POLE and POLD1 predispose to colorectal adenomas and carcinomas.CLINVAR
23447401 ↗Germline and somatic polymerase ε and δ mutations define a new class of hypermutated colorectal and endometrial cancers.CLINVAR
25394175 ↗A practice guideline from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the National Society of Genetic Counselors: referral indications for cancer predisposition assessment.CLINVAR