The Board denied service connection for oropharyngeal cancer, finding the evidence did not support a link to active service or presumed exposure to herbicide agents. The Veteran's private and VA medical opinions were against his claim.
The deciding factor: VA examiners found no clear medical evidence linking the Veteran's oropharyngeal cancer to Agent Orange exposure and noted other risk factors for oral cancer, such as smoking history.
- Claimed conditions
- oropharyngeal cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 20, 2023
- Citation
- 23066998
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 23066998.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for oropharyngeal cancer, finding that it is not related to his in-service exposure and instead caused by his long-term tobacco use.
- Granted
The Veteran's oropharyngeal cancer with soft palate reconstruction is granted service connection, and the claim for a dental disability secondary to this condition is remanded.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for oropharyngeal cancer, cervical node involvement of cancer, and loss of taste on a direct basis due to Agent Orange exposure. A rating of 60 percent was assigned for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and the Veteran's TDIU claim was also granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for oropharyngeal cancer due to a need for a new medical opinion addressing the Veteran's toxic exposures and alcohol abuse as secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
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