The short answer
In 2025 IARC classified automotive gasoline as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), linked to bladder cancer and acute myeloid leukemia in adults. Gasoline also contains benzene, a known carcinogen. Limiting time breathing fumes reduces exposure.
In 2025 IARC classified automotive gasoline as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1). An older 1989 rating was Group 2B.
People are mainly exposed by breathing gasoline vapors, especially while refueling.
IARC found sufficient evidence in people for bladder cancer and acute myeloid leukemia in adults. Gasoline contains benzene, which is linked to leukemia.
A carcinogen classification describes hazard — whether something can cause cancer — not your personal risk at a given exposure.
Choose how you want to read this
The whole article, with every detail and caution.
The simple version
Gasoline is a fuel made from petroleum. In 2025 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified automotive gasoline as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1). Gasoline also contains benzene, which is linked to leukemia. Exposure is mainly by breathing fumes, as at the pump.
What gasoline is
Gasoline is a mixture of many chemicals, including benzene. Benzene is one ingredient that adds to the cancer concern.
How people are exposed
Gasoline fumes can reach people in a few everyday and job settings:
- Breathing vapors while refueling vehicles.
- Working at gas stations or in fuel handling.
- Spills and fumes in enclosed spaces such as garages.
The cancer connection
IARC, the cancer agency of the World Health Organization, reviewed automotive gasoline in 2025 (Monographs Volume 138). It judged gasoline carcinogenic to humans (Group 1). It found sufficient evidence for urinary bladder cancer and for acute myeloid leukemia in adults. Evidence was limited for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and stomach and kidney cancers.
An earlier IARC review in 1989 had rated gasoline Group 2B, possibly carcinogenic. The 2025 review replaces that rating.
The National Cancer Institute says exposure to benzene raises the risk of leukemia and other blood disorders, and notes that gasoline fumes are one source of benzene in outdoor air.
Hazard is not the same as risk
A Group 1 listing is a statement about hazard. It says gasoline can cause cancer. It says nothing on its own about your risk. Your risk depends on how much vapor you breathe, how often, and over how many years. A tanker driver and someone who fills a car once a week share the same hazard and face very different risks.
How to lower your exposure
- Avoid breathing vapors, and do not linger or "top off" while refueling.
- Refuel in open air, and keep fuel out of living spaces.
- Use ventilation and protection in fuel-handling jobs.
- Do not smoke near fuel.
Prevention is rarely about one product. Our overview of cancer prevention and our page on what raises cancer risk put any single exposure in context.
The bottom line
IARC classifies automotive gasoline as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1). The practical response is simple. Cut down the vapor you breathe at the pump and in the garage. For most people, that is a bigger lever than the label itself.
When to get help sooner
Cancer risk builds slowly. A large dose of gasoline at once is a different problem, and it acts fast.
- Call 911 or go to an emergency department if someone swallows gasoline, or collapses, becomes confused, or has trouble breathing after breathing fumes. Do not try to treat it at home.
- Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 right away if gasoline is swallowed, even if the person seems fine.
- Call your care team the same day if headache, dizziness, or nausea after a fuel spill does not clear once you are back in fresh air.
Sources
Common questions
Does gasoline cause cancer?
Evidence says it can. In 2025 IARC classified automotive gasoline as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1). A hazard label does not tell you your own risk, which depends on how much you are exposed to and for how long.
How are people exposed to gasoline?
Most exposure happens by breathing gasoline vapors, mainly while refueling.
Which cancers are linked to gasoline?
IARC found sufficient evidence for urinary bladder cancer and acute myeloid leukemia in adults. Evidence is more limited for other cancers, such as childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and stomach and kidney cancers.
How can I reduce my exposure to gasoline?
The main step is limiting time breathing vapors while refueling.
Does a carcinogen label mean I will get cancer?
No. A classification is about hazard, meaning whether gasoline can cause cancer, not a prediction for any one person. Your actual risk depends on the amount and length of exposure and other factors.
Questions to ask your doctor
Being prepared helps you get the most out of your appointments. Save or print these questions.
Tap a question to save it to your list (kept on this device).
Talk with a trained specialist or navigator
Cancer Explained provides educational guidance, but does not replace trained specialists, social workers, or your medical team.
Talk to a trained cancer information specialist
Free, confidential assistance from NCI Cancer Information Service via phone, chat, or email.
Contact your oncology team
Locate after-hours contact numbers, portal messages, or urgent triage phone lines.
Find a patient navigator
Get one-on-one help with appointments, logistics, translation, and care coordination.
Find a genetic counselor
Discuss inherited mutation risk, family history, and genetic testing options.
Find an oncology social worker
Access emotional counseling, family support groups, and mental health resources.
Find a financial navigator
Locate copay assistance foundations, grant programs, and lodging/travel support.
Find a clinical-trial specialist
Search matching studies and speak with NCI trial information specialists.
Know someone who needs this?
Plenty of people are looking for something like this and do not know where to start. If this would help a friend or someone you love, send it on — we have written an opening line so you do not have to stare at an empty message. You can change every word of it.
Your message is written and sent in your own email or messaging app — we never see who you send it to, and nothing is added to any list.
Plain-language explanation of the published sources cited on this page. AI-assisted, source-checked, not clinician-reviewed.
Last updated: 2026-08-18Next planned review: 2028-07-05
Review details and limits
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status — Source checked. This page was written with AI assistance and then compared with the sources listed on it, looking for statements those sources do not back up. That check is not a sentence-by-sentence record and can miss errors. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
General education — varies by person. Answers genuinely differ between people. This page explains what commonly varies and points you to your care team for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
Words to know
Tap any term to see what it means.
Knowledge check
0 of 3 answered
This self-assessment checks understanding of educational content only. It is not medical advice.
How this page was created
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and then compared with the sources listed on it, looking for statements those sources do not back up. That check is not a sentence-by-sentence record and can miss errors. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
Read more about our editorial process, our use of AI, and our corrections policy.
Spotted a problem? Report an error — a factual mistake, broken or outdated source, confusing wording, or anything that seems unsafe. Please do not include names, medical record numbers, dates of birth, addresses, or other identifying medical information in your report.
After using this page, do you understand what to do next?
Anonymous — we only record the answer, never who gave it.