Abstract:
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When comparing different groups with time-to-event outcomes, standard methods of summarizing the between-group difference are based on Kaplan-Meier curves, the logrank test, and the point and interval estimates via the Cox proportional hazards model. However, when the proportional hazards assumption is violated, the logrank test may not have sufficient power to detect the difference between the event time distributions, and the resulting hazard ratio estimate is difficult to interpret as a treatment contrast. On the other hand, the restricted mean survival time (RMST) is an easily interpretable, clinically meaningful summary of the survival function in the presence of censoring. The RMST is the mean survival time of all subjects in the study population followed up to a time point t and can be estimated consistently by the area under the Kaplan-Meier curve over [0, t]. In this talk, we will discuss the use of RMST for quantifying the between-group difference with respect to time-to-event outcomes. Data from clinical studies will be used to illustration.
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