The Veteran's gastro-esophageal adenocarcinoma and associated anterior and posterior trunk scars are granted service connection due to in-service herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The evidence supports a finding that the Veteran's gastro-esophageal adenocarcinoma was caused by his in-service exposure to herbicide agents, which is presumed for conditions not otherwise shown to be causally related. The associated anterior and posterior trunk scars are considered secondary to the service-connected gastro-esophageal adenocarcinoma.
- Claimed conditions
- gastro-esophageal adenocarcinoma, anterior trunk scars, posterior trunk scars
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 25, 2026
- Citation
- A26017034
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 A26017034.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for the lumbar spine disability, right and left lower extremity radiculopathy (femoral), posterior trunk scars, and painful scars. However, it granted a rating of 40 percent for the lumbar spine disability from August 30, 2022, an earlier effective date of April 10, 2019, for service connection for painful trunk scars, and an earlier effective date of November 9, 2020, for TDIU and DEA.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, finding that the evidence did not support a compensable rating or service connection for any of the conditions appealed.
- Denied
The appeal for an initial compensable evaluation for service-connected anterior trunk scars was denied as the evidence did not support a compensable rating under any applicable diagnostic code.
- Denied
The Board denied an effective date prior to September 19, 2022, for the grant of a 10 percent disability rating for anterior trunk scars and vacated its previous decision dismissing the appeal as untimely.
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