Ovarian cancer is often characterized as a “silent killer” due to its insidious onset, difficulty in early diagnosis, and high mortality rate. Furthermore, advanced stages of the disease exhibit high recurrence rates and formidable chemoresistance. In recent years, the synergistic and sensitizing value of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the comprehensive management of ovarian cancer has become increasingly evident. This review systematically summarizes the pivotal mechanisms underlying the intervention of TCM monomers and compound formulas in ovarian cancer. It reveals that TCM constituents not only inhibit tumor invasion and metastasis by inducing cell cycle arrest, promoting apoptosis and ferroptosis, and modulating crucial signaling pathways—including the mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase and Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription pathways—but also demonstrate unique advantages in reversing platinum resistance and alleviating chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression by interfering with glycolipid metabolic reprogramming and remodeling the immune microenvironment. Future research should integrate multi-omics technologies to comprehensively validate these complex molecular networks, thereby providing robust evidence-based medical foundations for clinical precision therapeutics and the development of novel antineoplastic agents.

ovarian cancer  /  antitumor mechanism  /  signal pathway regulation  /  cell apoptosis  /  traditional Chinese medicine