The Veteran's kidney cancer is related to his exposure to herbicide agents during service, specifically Agent Orange. The Board has granted service connection for the condition.
The deciding factor: Medical opinions from VA urologists found a strong link between the Veteran's exposure to Agent Orange and his development of renal cell carcinoma.
- Claimed conditions
- renal cell carcinoma, kidney cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20070288
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,446 · Granted: 21% (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 20070288.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for renal cell carcinoma with partial nephrectomy is remanded due to a lack of development regarding the relationship between his hypertension and the cancer. The AOJ must obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate physician to determine if the Veteran's hypertension caused or aggravated his renal cell carcinoma.
- Dismissed
Your appeal for service connection for renal cell carcinoma with partial nephrectomy has been dismissed because the issue was already validly appealed in a previous docket number.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for renal cell carcinoma is remanded due to the lack of a reasoned medical explanation connecting the facts of his case.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for kidney cancer and chronic kidney disease due to a duty to assist error. The AOJ is required to conduct further development, including obtaining an addendum opinion from a qualified VA examiner regarding the Veteran's exposure to in-service toxic exposures involving fire smoke.
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