The Veteran's cause of death, metastatic cholangiocarcinoma, was not caused by or aggravated by his military service. The Board found no evidence linking the cancer to service and ruled against the claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran’s cholangiocarcinoma was less likely as not related to military service due to lack of evidence linking it to service, including Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic cholangiocarcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 27, 2018
- Citation
- 18152462
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 18152462.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA did not fully develop the claim for all of the Veteran's possible participation in TERA, including unrecorded trips to countries neighboring Vietnam and service with Republic of Korea forces by Navy personnel involved in the Poseidon program. The case is being remanded to obtain this information.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as metastatic cholangiocarcinoma was not shown to be related to his active service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied payment or reimbursement for non-VA medical care for cancer and hepatic steatosis as a Camp Lejeune family member due to the clinical finding that these conditions did not result from exposure at Camp Lejeune.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's cause of death is linked to his presumed in-service exposure to an herbicide agent such as Agent Orange.
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