Tumor diagnosis and therapy system based on covalent organic framework (COF): From sensing detection to synergistic treatment.

The precision diagnosis and treatment of tumors have long faced challenges, including difficulty in early detection and poor treatment specificity. At the same time, the separation of diagnosis and treatment in the traditional medical model further delays treatment decisions. It limits the ability to adjust flexibly to patients' individual circumstances. In recent years, covalent organic framework (COF), as an emerging class of crystalline porous materials with high surface area, customizable pore structures, excellent optoelectronic properties, and abundant functional sites, have provided an ideal platform for breaking through the bottlenecks of diagnosis and treatment and for building smart tumor diagnosis and treatment systems. This review systematically discusses the recent research progress and applications of COF materials in tumor diagnosis and treatment, focusing on how COF materials are applied in tumor diagnosis and therapy through structural design and functional modification to construct a tumor diagnosis and treatment system. Firstly, this article outlines the cutting-edge applications of COF sensors for detecting key biological markers, such as tumor metabolic markers. COF improves the sensitivity and specificity of the sensors, promising early and precise diagnosis of tumors, providing real-time data for subsequent treatments, and laying the 'perception' foundation for the tumor diagnosis and treatment system. Next, it focuses on how COF can serve as a drug carrier to achieve targeted drug delivery and synergize multiple treatment modalities. It achieves a seamless connection from diagnosis to treatment, breaking down the traditional separation between diagnosis and treatment. On this basis, it further explores how to turn the detection signal into a decision-making trigger, enabling real-time monitoring of treatment efficacy and constructing a tumor diagnosis and treatment system. Finally, the challenges currently faced by the COF tumor diagnosis and treatment system, as well as its future development and prospects for clinical translation, were discussed.