The Board found that the cause of the veteran's death, metastatic esophageal carcinoma, was not caused by his service or any related condition. The appellant claimed exposure to Agent Orange during service contributed to the cancer, but the Board determined this claim could not be substantiated due to lack of evidence and because the Secretary has not specifically determined a presumption of service connection for esophageal cancer.
The deciding factor: The cause of death was metastatic esophageal carcinoma, which is not among the diseases recognized as related to Agent Orange exposure. The appellant's claim could not be substantiated due to lack of evidence and because the Secretary has not specifically determined a presumption of service connection for esophageal cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic esophageal carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 18, 2006
- Citation
- 0611039
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,013 · Granted: 17% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0611039.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of death due to metastatic esophageal carcinoma, which is presumed to be caused by herbicide exposure during service in Vietnam.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's cause of death was not related to herbicide agent exposure, but service connection for the cause of death is granted due to a current disability (metastatic esophageal carcinoma) and a causal relationship established on a direct basis.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for cause of death due to metastatic esophageal carcinoma, which the Veteran was presumed exposed to herbicide agents during his service in Vietnam. The Board found that exposure to herbicide agents likely caused or substantially contributed to the cause of death.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has determined that the cause of the Veteran's death was metastatic esophageal carcinoma, which is not service-connected due to lack of evidence linking it to his presumed exposure to Agent Orange. The Board also found no evidence of primary lung cancer and concluded that the esophageal cancer did not result from Agent Orange exposure.
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