Citation Nr: 20040100 Decision Date: 06/11/20 Archive Date: 06/11/20 DOCKET NO. 17-53 762 DATE: June 11, 2020 REMANDED Service connection for a skin disorder to include melanoma is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force from January 1954 to January 1974. The matter is on appeal before the Board from an April 2016 rating decision. The Board previously remanded the matter for further development in December 2017. The Board notes that the Veteran’s appeal to the Board contained issues pertaining to service connection for bilateral peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities and service connection for bilateral peripheral neuropathy of the upper extremities, which were granted in a November 2019 rating decision. As that decision constituted full-grants of the benefit sought (namely, service connection), these issue are no longer before the Board. Service Connection Skin Disorder Including Melanoma In the Appellate Brief submitted by the Veteran’s representative in May 2020, the representative cites to a 2014 academic treatise that concludes that Agent Orange is associated with skin cancer, and specifically cites basal cell carcinoma as a result of herbicide exposure. The Veteran’s record reflects diagnoses of basal cell carcinoma and other types of skin cancers. The record reflects that the Veteran served in Thailand as a vehicle repairman and was at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base. In the Veteran’s Form 9 Appeal to the Board, the Veteran reported that he repaired and performed maintenance on container/spray vehicles that were utilized in spraying herbicides along the perimeter of the base. As the Veteran’s skin cancers are not among those disorders considered for presumptive service connection due to exposure to certain herbicide agents under 3.309(e), a medical opinion pertaining to the Veteran’s exposure to herbicides and a possible link to skin cancer is warranted. As an alternate, the Veteran’s representative cites to a 2019 academic treatise pertaining to Thailand’s ultraviolet (UV) index rating, and notes that it is considered to be extremely high. Thus, the representative puts forth the question of whether the Veteran’s UV exposure in Thailand during service may have caused him to develop skin cancer years later. Thus, a medical opinion addressing UV exposure and a possible link to the Veteran’s skin conditions is warranted. The Board notes that the Veteran was provided with a VA examination pertaining to his skin disorders in October 2019, however, the above referenced arguments were not addressed at that time and thus another medical opinion is warranted. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Obtain a medical opinion to determine the etiology of the Veteran’s skin disorders, to include melanoma. The examiner should answer the following questions: Is it at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the Veteran’s skin disorders began in or were otherwise caused by the Veteran’s active military service, to include exposure to Agent Orange and UV radiation while serving in Thailand? Why or Why not? In so doing, the examiner should take into account the arguments put forth by the Appellate Brief submitted in May 2020 and the academic treatises cited within. MATTHEW W. BLACKWELDER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board S. Lutgens-Staley, Associate Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.