Citation Nr: 21068375 Decision Date: 11/10/21 Archive Date: 11/10/21 DOCKET NO. 17-56 127 DATE: November 10, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for salivary gland mucinous adenocarcinoma is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's salivary gland mucinous adenocarcinoma is etiologically related to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria to establish service connection for salivary gland mucinous adenocarcinoma have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5103, 5103A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from June 1967 to November 1969, including combat and overseas service in Vietnam. The Veteran appealed a June 2017 rating decision by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). A Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) hearing was held in May 2021. A transcript is of record. In July 2021, the Board remanded the Veteran's claim to the AOJ for further action consistent with the Board's remand directives. The claim is back before the Board for further appellate proceedings. The Board finds there has been substantial compliance with its remand directives. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). A veteran is entitled to Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) disability compensation if there is a disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty in active service, or for aggravation of a preexisting injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty in active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110. Generally, to establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a veteran must show: (1) a present disability; (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service, the so-called "nexus" requirement. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all of the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that a disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). Further, a Veteran who during active military, naval, or air service served in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, shall be presumed to have been exposed during such service to an herbicide agent, unless there is affirmative evidence establishing that the Veteran was not exposed to any such agent. 38 U.S.C. § 1116(f) 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6). The Veteran is diagnosed with salivary gland adenocarcinoma. See October 2016 treatment records. Exposure to herbicide agents while serving in Vietnam is presumed. A September 2021 opinion found that the Veteran's salivary gland mucinous adenocarcinoma is at least as likely as not related to service in Vietnam. The reviewing clinician noted there is no clear cause of the condition and that exposure to Agent Orange may increase the risk of cancers in all sites. The Board finds the September 2021 opinion probative. The Veteran also submitted articles in September and October 2019 noting a relationship between Agent Orange exposure and salivary gland cancer. The Board finds that there is persuasive evidence of record establishing a link between the Veteran's salivary cancer and his in-service exposure to herbicide agents. Accordingly, the Board finds that a grant of service connection is warranted for salivary gland mucinous adenocarcinoma. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. DONNIE R. HACHEY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Zheng, 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.