Wearable bioelectronics for skin cancer management.

Abstract

Wearable bioelectronics have transformed modern biomedical applications by enabling seamless integration with biological tissues, providing continuous, comprehensive, and personalized healthcare. Skin cancer, particularly melanoma, poses a significant clinical challenge due to its high metastatic potential and associated mortality. Traditional diagnostic approaches face limitations in accuracy, accessibility, and reproducibility, while existing treatments are often constrained by systemic toxicity and therapeutic resistance. Wearable bioelectronics offer innovative solutions for both diagnosis and treatment. Advanced platforms incorporating cutting-edge technologies optimize diagnostic accuracy and treatment precision. This review systematically examines the recent advancements in wearable bioelectronics for skin cancer management. Firstly, the pathological mechanisms underlying skin cancer is discussed. Next, we discuss the wearable optical and electrochemical sensing technologies for early and non-invasive cancer screening. We further evaluate wearable therapeutic platforms, for chemotherapy, photodynamic therapy, electrotherapy, and immunotherapy, along with combinatorial cancer treatment strategies. Key device attributes-including integration, mechanical properties, and biocompatibility-are analyzed to highlight their role in optimizing cancer treatment performance and patient compliance. Finally, we address major challenges, including technological bottlenecks and barriers to clinical translation, while proposing future research directions to enhance the applicability of wearable bioelectronics in precision oncology. By integrating interdisciplinary innovations, wearable devices have the potential to redefine skin cancer diagnosis and treatment, offering safer, more effective, and patient-centered solutions.