Claim Raven explanation
What this means
This section establishes presumptions for specified bladder, ureter, and related urinary cancers in covered veterans. It defines qualifying service locations and periods and identifies circumstances that can rebut the presumption.
The exact site of the cancer matters. A general reference to a urinary problem or suspected cancer is different from a confirmed diagnosis at a covered site. Read the diagnosis and service requirements together.
How this helps your claim
Use this rule to connect the pathology diagnosis with the qualifying service evidence. It can also help you understand whether a denial concerns the cancer type, the service requirements, or affirmative evidence against the presumption.
What to check in your records
Use your decision, examination reports, and relevant records to check the following points.
- Locate pathology and oncology reports identifying the cancer's primary site.
- Match service locations and dates to the covered-veteran definition.
- Review any specific evidence cited to rebut the presumption.
Use the confirmed cancer site in the comparison
Oncology and pathology records can distinguish the primary cancer site from symptoms, suspected findings or disease that has spread. That distinction matters when a regulation names particular organs or cancer categories. Use the clinician's documented diagnosis rather than a general phrase such as urinary cancer.
For the service requirement, match the personnel history with the locations and periods actually listed. Keep a copy of the record establishing that service beside the diagnostic evidence. This makes an unresolved location question easier to distinguish from an unresolved medical classification.
Does any urinary condition fall under this presumption?
No. The provision concerns the specified cancers and covered veterans, not every urinary symptom or diagnosis. A condition outside this list may require consideration under another applicable rule. The existence of this presumption should not be used to relabel a diagnosis or assume its qualifying service requirements.
Official regulatory text
38 CFR § 3.320a
eCFR snapshot: September 3, 2026. Layout and spacing are adapted for reading. The full section and its tables are included below.
§ 3.320a Presumptive service connection for bladder, ureter, and related genitourinary cancers.
(a) Presumption of exposure. A covered veteran as defined in paragraph (c) of this section shall be presumed to have been exposed to certain toxic substances, chemicals, and airborne hazards, including fine particulate matter, during such service, unless there is affirmative evidence to establish that the veteran was not exposed to any such toxic substances, chemicals, and airborne hazards during that service.
(b) Presumption of service connection. Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, the following diseases becoming manifest in a covered veteran, as defined in paragraph (c) of this section, shall be considered to have been incurred in or aggravated during active military, naval, air, or space service, notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence of such disease during the period of such service:
(1) Urinary bladder cancer, including over-lapping sites of the bladder.
(2) Ureter cancer, including the ureteric orifice, and urachus.
(c) Covered Veteran. For purposes of this section, the term covered veteran means any veteran who:
(1) On or after August 2, 1990, performed active military, naval, air, or space service while assigned to a duty station in, including airspace above
(i) The Southwest Asia theater of operations as defined in § 3.317(e)(2); or
(ii) Somalia; or
(2) On or after September 11, 2001, performed active military, naval, air, or space service while assigned to a duty station in, including airspace above:
(i) Afghanistan;
(ii) Djibouti;
(iii) Egypt;
(iv) Jordan;
(v) Lebanon;
(vi) Syria;
(vii) Yemen; or
(viii) Uzbekistan.
(d) Exceptions. A disease listed in paragraph (b) of this section shall not be presumed service connected if there is affirmative evidence that:
(1) The disease was not incurred or aggravated during active military, naval, air, or space service; or
(2) The disease was caused by a supervening condition or event that occurred between the Veteran's most recent departure from active military, naval, air, or space service and the onset of the disease; or
(3) The disease is the result of the Veteran's own willful misconduct.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 1119, 1120, 1174)
[90 FR 29, Jan. 2, 2025]
Related references
- 38 CFR § 3.317: Gulf War Illness and Unexplained Symptoms
- 38 CFR § 4.1: What a VA disability rating measures
- 38 CFR § 3.159: VA duty to assist: records and examinations
Ready to review your own document? Start your free claim review.