Presumptive Cancers Related to Burn Pit Exposure
The VA has expanded the list of presumptive cancers for eligible Gulf War and post-9/11 Veterans. A presumptive condition means the VA assumes (or “presumes”) that your service caused your condition.
Read this page to review the most common types of cancers the VA now considers presumptive for eligible Veterans. If you have one of these cancers and had exposure to burn pits or served in a qualifying location, you may be eligible. We encourage you to file a claim for disability compensation and apply for VA health care now.
Brain, head, neck, and nervous system cancers
The VA considers these types of cancers presumptive:
- Brain and brain stem cancers (including glioblastoma and other brain cancers)
- Head cancers of any type (including cancers of the scalp, face, mouth, aural areas, lips, and hard or soft palate)
- Neck cancers of any type (including cancers of the neck, pharynx, and larynx)
- Spinal cord cancers
Note: This isn’t a complete list of brain, head, neck, and nervous system cancers.
Examples of these presumptive cancers
Brain cancers
The VA considers these glioblastomas presumptive:
- Primary glioblastoma
- Secondary glioblastoma
The VA considers these astrocytomas presumptive:
- Anaplastic astrocytoma
- Brain stem glioma
- Diffuse astrocytoma
- Pilocytic astrocytoma
- Pineal astrocytic tumors
- Subependymal giant cell astrocytoma
The VA considers these other brain cancers presumptive:
- Ependymomas (cellular, clear cell, papillary, RELA fusion-positive, and tanycytic)
- Malignant pineal gland
- Mixed gliomas (Oligoastrocytoma)
- Oligodendrogliomas
- Pituitary carcinoma
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive brain cancers.
Ear and eye cancers
The VA considers these ear cancers presumptive:
- Ceruminous adenoma
- Rhabdomyosarcoma
The VA considers these eye cancers presumptive:
- Carcinoid tumors of the orbit and ocular adnexa
- Eye and ocular adnexa cancers (ciliary body, eyelid, iris, optic disc, retina, vitreous, and orbit tumors)
- Melanomas of the eye (choroidal melanoma, conjunctival melanoma, and iris melanoma)
- Neuroendocrine tumors of the orbit
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive ear and eye cancers.
Mouth, neck, and throat cancers
The VA considers these mouth, neck, and throat cancers presumptive:
- Hypopharyngeal cancer (including adenoid cystic carcinoma, lymphoma, mucoepidermoid carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma)
- Jaw cancer (including ameloblastic carcinoma, clear cell odontogenic carcinoma, ghost cell odontogenic carcinoma, multiple myeloma, odontogenic carcinosarcoma, odontogenic sarcoma, osteosarcoma, primary intraosseous carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma)
- Laryngeal cancer (including adenocarcinoma, chondrosarcoma, lymphoma, plasmacytoma, sarcoma, and squamous cell carcinoma)
- Oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma
- Oropharyngeal cancer (including lymphoepithelioma, lymphoma, minor salivary gland tumors, salivary gland cancer, squamous cell carcinoma, and tonsillar cancer)
The VA considers these cancers presumptive:
- Pharyngeal cancer (including basaloid squamous cell carcinoma, keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma, and non-keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma)
- Salivary gland cancer (including acinic cell carcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified or “NOS,” mucoepidermoid carcinoma, polymorphous adenocarcinoma, and secretory carcinoma)
- Thyroid cancer (including anaplastic, follicular, medullary, and papillary)
- Tongue cancer (including adenoid cystic carcinoma, mucoepidermoid carcinoma, and polymorphous low-grade carcinoma)
The VA considers these skin cancers of the mouth and neck presumptive:
- Basal cell carcinoma of the skin
- Melanoma
- Squamous cell carcinoma of the skin
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive mouth and neck cancers.
Nose cancers
The VA considers these nasopharyngeal cancers presumptive:
- Keratinizing undifferentiated carcinoma
- Non-keratinizing undifferentiated carcinoma
- Squamous cell carcinoma
The VA considers these paranasal sinus and nasal cavity cancers presumptive:
- Adenocarcinoma
- Adenoid cystic cancer
- Lymphoma
- Neuroendocrine carcinoma
- Olfactory neuroblastoma
- Plasmacytoma
- Squamous cell carcinoma
The VA considers these skin cancers of the nose presumptive:
- Melanoma
- Squamous cell carcinoma
The VA considers these sarcomas presumptive:
- Fibrosarcoma
- Leiomyosarcoma
- Rhabdomyosarcoma
- Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive nose cancers.
Sarcomas
The VA considers these sarcomas presumptive if malignancy is in the head or neck areas:
- Fibromatosis
- Liposarcoma
- Malignant ganglioma, mesenchymoma, and schwannoma
- Osteosarcoma
The VA considers these rare sarcomas presumptive if malignancy is in the head or neck areas:
- Dermatofibrosarcoma
- Ectomesenchymoma
- Ewing sarcoma (endocrine)
- Fibrosarcoma
- Leiomyosarcoma
- Low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma
- Rhabdomyosarcoma
The VA considers these sarcomas in the blood vessels presumptive:
- Angiosarcoma
- Hemangioendothelioma and hemangiopericytoma
- Solitary fibrous tumor
- Vascular sarcoma
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive sarcomas.
Spinal cord cancers
The VA considers these spinal cord cancers presumptive:
- Lymphoma
- Malignant schwannoma
- Multiple myeloma
- Osteosarcoma
- Solitary plasmacytoma
The VA considers these rare spinal cord cancers presumptive:
- Chondrosarcoma
- Chordoma
- Ewing’s sarcoma
- Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive spinal cord cancers.
Gastrointestinal cancers
The VA considers these gastrointestinal cancers presumptive:
- Anal cancer (including adenocarcinoma, basal cell cancer, carcinoma in situ or “Bowen’s disease,” melanoma, and squamous cell cancer)
- Colorectal cancer or colon cancer (including adenocarcinoma, carcinoid, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, and lymphoma)
- Esophageal cancer (including adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma)
- Liver cancer (including hepatocellular carcinoma of the liver and intrahepatic tract)
- Pancreatic cancer (including adenocarcinoma of the pancreas)
The VA considers these gastrointestinal cancers presumptive:
- Salivary gland cancers (including acinic cell carcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified or “NOS,” mucoepidermoid carcinoma, polymorphous adenocarcinoma, and secretory carcinoma)
- Small intestine cancers (including adenocarcinoma, carcinoid tumor, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, lymphoma, and sarcoma)
- Spleen cancers (including primary tumors of the spleen)
- Stomach cancers (including carcinoid tumors, diffuse adenocarcinoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, intestinal carcinoma, and lymphoma)
- Tongue cancer (including adenoid cystic carcinoma, mucoepidermoid carcinoma, and polymorphous low-grade carcinoma)
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive gastrointestinal cancers.
Kidney cancers
The VA considers these kidney cancers presumptive:
- Renal cell carcinoma (including chromophobe, clear cell, clear cell papillary, collecting duct, medullary, papillary, and unclassified types)
- Non-renal cell carcinoma (including renal sarcoma and Wilms tumor)
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive kidney cancers.
Lymphomas
The VA considers these cancers presumptive:
- B-cell lymphoma (including diffuse B-cell lymphoma, follicular B-cell lymphoma, other non-Hodgkin mature B-cell lymphoma, and small cell B-cell lymphoma)
- Hodgkin’s lymphoma
The VA considers these rare cancers presumptive:
- Anaplastic large cell lymphoma
- Burkitt lymphoma
- Lymphoblastic lymphoma
- Mantle-cell lymphoma
- Mycosis fungoides
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- T-cell lymphoma
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive lymphomas.
Melanoma
The VA considers these melanomas presumptive:
- Melanomas of the eye (including choroidal melanoma, conjunctival melanoma, and iris melanoma)
- Melanomas of the skin (including acral lentiginous melanoma, lentigo maligna melanoma, nodular melanoma, and superficial spreading melanoma)
- Mucosal melanoma (melanomas that originate in tissues that line internal areas of the body)
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive melanomas.
Pancreatic cancers
The VA considers these pancreatic cancers presumptive:
- Exocrine pancreatic cancers (including adenocarcinoma, adenosquamous carcinoma, colloid carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma)
- Neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive pancreatic cancers.
Reproductive cancers
Female reproductive cancers
The VA considers these female reproductive cancers presumptive:
- Breast cancer
- Cervical cancer
- Ovarian cancer
- Uterine cancer
- Vaginal cancer
- Vulvar cancer
Male reproductive cancers
The VA considers these male reproductive cancers presumptive:
- Penile cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Testicular cancer
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive reproductive cancers
Respiratory cancers
Respiratory cancers are any cancers found from the area of the nose to the space between the between the lungs and beneath the chest wall (called the pleural space). These cancers include cancers of the bronchus, larynx, lung, pharynx, and trachea.
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive respiratory cancers.
Examples of presumptive respiratory cancers
Bronchial cancers
The VA considers these bronchial cancers presumptive:
- Adenocarcinoma
- Large-cell carcinoma
- Squamous cell carcinoma
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive bronchial cancers.
Laryngeal cancers
The VA considers these laryngeal cancers presumptive:
- Adenocarcinoma
- Chondrosarcoma
- Glottis, laryngeal neuroendocrine, subglottis, or supraglottis neoplasm
- Lymphoma
- Plasmacytoma
- Sarcoma
- Squamous cell carcinoma
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive laryngeal cancers.
Lung cancers
Non-small cell lung cancers
The VA considers these non-small cell lung cancers presumptive:
- Adenocarcinoma
- Carcinoid tumor
- Large cell carcinoma
- Pleomorphic carcinoma
- Salivary gland carcinoma
- Squamous cell carcinoma (epidermoid carcinoma)
- Unclassified carcinoma
Small cell lung cancers
The VA considers these small cell lung cancers presumptive:
- Combined small cell carcinoma
- Small cell carcinoma (oat cell cancer)
Other lung cancers
The VA considers these other lung cancers presumptive:
- Adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung
- Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung
- Sarcomoid carcinoma of the lung
- Typical and atypical carcinoid of the lung
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive lung cancers.
Nasopharyngeal cancer
The VA considers these nasopharyngeal cancers presumptive:
- Keratinizing undifferentiated carcinoma
- Non-keratinizing undifferentiated carcinoma
- Squamous cell carcinoma
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive nasopharyngeal cancers.
Paranasal sinus and nasal cavity cancer
The VA considers these paranasal sinus and nasal cavity cancers presumptive:
- Lymphoma
- Melanoma
- Neuroendocrine carcinoma
- Plasmacytoma
- Squamous cell carcinoma
The VA considers these rare paranasal sinus and nasal cavity cancers presumptive:
- Adenocarcinoma
- Adenoid cystic cancer
- Fibrosarcoma undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma
- Leiomyosarcoma
- Olfactory neuroblastoma
- Rhabdomyosarcoma
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive paranasal sinus and nasal cavity cancers.
Pharyngeal cancers
The VA considers these pharyngeal cancers presumptive:
- Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma
- Keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma
- Non-keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive pharyngeal cancers.
Throat (oropharyngeal) cancers
The VA considers these throat cancers presumptive:
- Lymphoepithelioma
- Lymphoma
- Minor salivary gland tumors
- Salivary gland cancer
- Squamous cell carcinoma
- Tonsillar cancer
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive throat cancers.
Trachea cancers
The VA considers these trachea cancers presumptive:
- Adenocarcinoma of the trachea
- Squamous cell carcinoma of the trachea
Note: This isn’t a complete list of presumptive trachea cancers.
If you have one of these cancers and had exposure to burn pits or served in a qualifying location, you may be eligible. We encourage you to file a claim for disability compensation and apply for VA health care now.
