Kidney Cancer and Military Toxic Exposure

The VA lists kidney cancer as a presumptive condition for veterans exposed to burn pits and other airborne hazards under the PACT Act. Because it is presumptive, eligible veterans do not have to prove their service caused the cancer.

The VA presumes exposure if you served in a covered location during a qualifying period. This includes the Gulf War era (on or after August 2, 1990) in places such as Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, and the United Arab Emirates, and the post-9/11 era (on or after September 11, 2001) in places such as Afghanistan, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Uzbekistan, and Yemen, including the airspace above these locations.

The VA recognizes kidney cancer as one of the eight diseases presumptively linked to the contaminated drinking water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. The water contained industrial solvents including trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE), which the ATSDR and VA have associated with increased kidney cancer risk.

To qualify, a veteran, Reservist, or National Guard member generally must have served at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 cumulative days between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987 and later developed kidney cancer.

Kidney (renal) cancer is included on the VA's presumptive list for veterans exposed to ionizing radiation, under cancers of the urinary tract (which the VA describes as including the kidney/renal, pelvis, urinary bladder, and urethra). Qualifying radiation-exposed veterans do not have to prove a connection between the disease and their service.

Radiation-risk activities recognized by the VA include participation in atmospheric nuclear weapons testing, the postwar occupation of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, and certain cleanup operations such as Enewetak Atoll (1977 to 1980) and Palomares, Spain. Eligibility depends on documented participation in a qualifying radiation-risk activity.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including those in AFFF firefighting foam used on many military installations, have been studied in connection with kidney cancer, but the science is still evolving. In September 2024, the VA announced a formal scientific assessment to determine whether PFAS exposure during military service should be presumptively connected to kidney cancer among veterans. That assessment is still underway; the VA published its response to public comments in the Federal Register in December 2025.

At this time kidney cancer is not presumptive based on PFAS exposure alone. Veterans who believe PFAS exposure contributed to their kidney cancer may still pursue a claim on a direct, case-by-case basis.