Fluorescent Probe-Based Strategies for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer Biomarkers: A Review

Ovarian cancer remains one of the deadliest gynecological malignancies, largely because its early stages are clinically silent and difficult to detect with current diagnostic tools. Most patients are diagnosed only after the disease has progressed to advanced stages, where therapeutic options are limited and survival rates decline sharply. Therefore, developing highly sensitive and selective methods for early detection is critical for improving prognosis and reducing mortality. Fluorescent probe-based strategies have emerged as powerful tools for detecting ovarian cancer-associated biomarkers with high precision. These probes offer real-time visualization, minimal invasiveness, and excellent sensitivity, making them well-suited for monitoring subtle biochemical changes associated with early tumor development. A broad range of biomarkers relevant to ovarian cancer can be targeted using tailored fluorescent probes. The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive and critical analysis of fluorescent probe-based strategies for detecting key ovarian cancer biomarkers, summarize recent technological advancements, evaluate their diagnostic value, and outline future opportunities for developing next-generation probes tailored for early ovarian cancer screening. In addition, this review discusses the underlying mechanisms exploited by these probes, including intramolecular charge transfer (ICT), aggregation-induced emission (AIE), excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT), Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), photoinduced electron transfer (PET), and other related fluorescence-based mechanisms.