The Board granted service connection for residuals of squamous cell carcinoma of the neck, finding that new and material evidence had been submitted to reopen the claim.
The deciding factor: The July 2025 VA examination report confirmed a diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the neck, and the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents during service was presumed. The medical literature supported a link between herbicide agent exposure and nonmelanotic invasive skin cancer, including squamous cell carcinoma.
- Claimed conditions
- squamous cell carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- October 29, 2025
- Citation
- 25013385
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (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 25013385.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's squamous cell carcinoma is granted as secondary to his service-connected eczema and psoriasis. The initial compensable evaluation for toenail psoriasis remains denied.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection of squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and actinic keratosis as the appeal is considered duplicative of a previous decision.
- Partly granted
The Board has determined that the severance of service connection for neoplasm hard and soft tissue of the mouth was improper, as there is conflicting medical evidence regarding the cause of the condition. The Veteran's conditions are related to his active duty service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of death due to squamous cell carcinoma, finding that there is no evidence linking it to herbicide agent exposure in Vietnam.
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