Treatment Approaches
Best Supportive Care
Also known as: BSC, Supportive care, Palliative care
Definition
Treatment focused on symptom management and quality of life without anti-cancer therapy, often used as a control arm in trials.
Detailed Explanation
BSC includes pain management, anti-nausea medications, blood transfusions, antibiotics, nutritional support, and palliative radiation. Used when cancer treatments offer minimal benefit or patient prefers comfort focus. In clinical trials, BSC is the comparator showing survival with supportive care alone. Increasingly integrated with active treatment (concurrent palliative care).