Regulated cell death in ovarian cancer: molecular mechanisms and therapeutic targets.

Ovarian cancer (OC) poses a significant threat to women's health due to its high malignancy and poor prognosis, with limited efficacy of existing targeted therapies. In recent years, the elucidation of molecular mechanisms underlying regulated cell death (RCD) has substantially broadened our understanding of OC pathogenesis and therapeutic resistance, rendering the modulation of RCD pathways by small-molecule compounds a highly promising therapeutic strategy. This review systematically outlines the mechanistic underpinnings of multiple major RCD subtypes in OC, with a focused summary of advances in innovative small-molecule compounds targeting these pathways; discusses nanodelivery platforms for RCD modulation, predictive biomarkers for patient stratification, and the current landscape of clinical trials targeting RCD in OC; and finally analyzes the opportunities and challenges in clinical translation within this field, aiming to provide novel insights and directions for precision therapy in OC.