Introduction: Homes can expose adults chronically to carcinogens, including radon, secondhand tobacco smoke, solid-fuel emissions, cooking fumes, volatile organic compounds, pesticides, and contaminated drinking water. This review aimed to integrate evidence on the association between household environmental pollutants and cancer risk in adults, emphasizing environmental health and oncology perspectives.

Methods: A structured narrative review searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and CIVILICA for Persian- and English-language studies published between 2000 and March 2026. Eligible studies examined adult household exposure to radon, tobacco smoke, solid-fuel combustion, indoor chemicals, pesticides, or drinking-water contaminants and cancer outcomes. Findings were descriptively synthesized by pollutant, exposure pathway, cancer outcome, evidence strength, confounding, and intervention potential.

Results: The strongest and most consistent evidence linked residential radon, secondhand tobacco smoke, and household coal combustion to lung cancer. Evidence concerning wood- and biomass-fuel smoke and cooking emissions, particularly in poorly ventilated homes, was moderate and varied by fuel type, stove characteristics, and exposure duration. Although benzene, formaldehyde, and certain volatile organic compounds are recognized carcinogens, risk estimates for typical household exposures remained limited. Evidence linking household pesticide exposure to lymphomas and hematologic malignancies, and nitrate and trihalomethane contamination of drinking water to gastrointestinal or bladder cancers, ranged from limited to moderate and was heterogeneous. Major limitations included exposure misclassification, self-reported exposures, and confounding by active smoking, socioeconomic status, diet, occupational exposures, and outdoor air pollution.

Conclusion: Radon, secondhand tobacco smoke, and solid-fuel combustion are key modifiable household cancer risks, especially for lung cancer. Priorities include radon testing and mitigation, smoke-free homes and vehicles, cleaner energy, improved ventilation, and environmental exposure histories in primary and oncology care.