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Prostate cancer

How the VA looks at Prostate cancer

VA rating schedule, diagnostic code 7528

Prostate cancer is a malignant (cancerous) tumor of the prostate gland. The VA rates it under its rules for the genitourinary (urinary and reproductive) system. When the VA decides a claim, it must first "service-connect" the condition, meaning it links the cancer to your military service. One way to do this is the normal way (showing the cancer began in or was caused by service), and another is through a "presumptive" pathway based on toxic exposure, explained below.

The diagnostic code for prostate cancer is 7528, "Malignant neoplasms of the genitourinary system." Under this code, active cancer is rated at 100 percent. The rules say that after surgery, X-ray treatment, chemotherapy, or other treatment ends, the 100 percent rating continues, and the VA must schedule an exam six months later. If that exam shows no local recurrence or spread (metastasis) of the cancer, the VA then rates the condition based on its lasting residuals (lingering effects) — using whichever is worse, voiding dysfunction (problems urinating) or renal (kidney) dysfunction. So the rating percentage is driven by whether the cancer is active versus the severity of those leftover effects after treatment.

There is also a presumptive exposure pathway that can remove the need to prove a direct cause (the "nexus"). Prostate cancer is on the VA's list of diseases tied to exposure to certain herbicide agents, such as Agent Orange. If a veteran was exposed to an herbicide agent during qualifying service, the VA presumes prostate cancer is service-connected when the exposure and time requirements are met, even with no record of the disease during service. The PACT Act expanded the list of qualifying locations and time periods for presumed Agent Orange exposure, including bases in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Guam, American Samoa, and Johnston Atoll during set date ranges. Meeting one of these service requirements can establish presumptive exposure.

This is educational information about how the VA's rules generally work — it is not legal advice or a VA decision about your individual claim.

Sources

  1. 38 CFR 4.115b - Ratings of the genitourinary system—diagnoses — 38 CFR 4.115b (opens in a new tab)
  2. 38 CFR 3.309 - Disease subject to presumptive service connection — 38 CFR 3.309 (opens in a new tab)
  3. Agent Orange exposure and disability compensation - Veterans Affairs — VA.gov - Agent Orange exposure (opens in a new tab)

Rating background drawn from federal regulations and VA guidance. Recorded source review June 2026. Educational information, not legal advice or a VA determination.

Across 16,110 Board decisions mentioning Prostate cancer

31% were granted or partly granted.

A denial is often not the end either — remands (shown below) are sent back for more development and can still end in a grant. These are whole-decision outcomes, not condition-specific success rates or a prediction of your case.

  • Granted 28%
  • Partly granted 3%
  • Remanded 31%
  • Denied 32%
  • Dismissed 6%

An accredited representative can help review your notice and evidence. Find free (VSO) or accredited help →

Theories recorded in granted decisions

These are decision-level labels in granted or partly granted decisions mentioning Prostate cancer. They do not establish which theory succeeded for this condition.

  • Direct service connection2,369
  • Presumptive (no nexus needed)1,865
  • Reopened with new & material evidence272

Checking a rating

Ratings from individual decisions are not shown until verified against the original source. This does not mean that no rating was assigned. Check the original Board decision.

Explore the original decisions

A decision may address several conditions. Its overall outcome or exposure tags do not establish what happened to each individual claim. Verify the specific issue against the original Board decision.

Browse decisions mentioning Prostate cancer →

Browse Prostate cancer decisions by year

Jump to the decisions from a specific year.

Coverage is incomplete and may lag publication. A year that looks thin or missing here (especially 2011–2017) is a gap in our library, not in the Board’s decisions.

What you can do next

Related conditions

Veterans appealing Prostate cancer often look at outcomes for these too:

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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.