The Veteran's nasopharyngeal carcinoma is being remanded for additional development as the claim involves presumed exposure to herbicides, specifically Agent Orange. The Board finds that a VA examination is needed to determine if there is a connection between the Veteran's service and his condition.
The deciding factor: The claim involves presumptive service connection based on exposure to herbicides, specifically Agent Orange, but nasopharyngeal cancer is not listed as a presumptively associated disease. The Veteran's theory of similar tissue connections warrants further investigation.
- Claimed conditions
- left nasopharyngeal carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19133933
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,092 · Granted: 42% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19133933.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's left nasopharyngeal carcinoma as secondary to his in-service exposure to an herbicide agent, finding that the evidence is in relative equipoise and resolving any reasonable doubt in favor of the claimant.
- Granted
The Board of Veterans' Appeals has granted service connection for PTSD and Mood Disorders, both presumed conditions under the PACT Act.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- Granted
Service connection for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is granted. The appeal as to the issue of entitlement to service connection for erectile dysfunction is dismissed.
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