“Lines of therapy” is the term used to describe the order in which different therapies are given to people as their disease progresses.
In practice, doctors may choose a patient’s next line of therapy based on established treatment guidelines, recently published clinical trial results or even the person’s unique life situation. For clinical trials, lines of therapy — including how many and which therapies were given — are often included in the enrollment requirements. Some trials even study if an already-approved therapy should be given as an earlier line of therapy or a later line of therapy than what is currently recommended.
The following articles define lines of therapy, discuss how each line of therapy is chosen, and explain current MBC treatment guidelines.
- Definition of First Line of Therapy by Cancer.gov.
- An Overview of First-Line Treatment for Cancer This article by Verywell Health also goes into second and third lines of therapy.
- Navigating Treatment Options for Metastatic Breast Cancer This article by Verywell Health discusses how symptom management and quality of life issues affect lines of therapy.
- Treatment Lines METUP UK provides an outline of lines of therapy for several different MBC subtypes.
- Treatment Guidelines for Metastatic Breast Cancer by Metastatic Trial Talk.
Last Modified on May 5, 2021