Institute for Mathematics and Its Applications

Talk abstract:

Analysis of Multivariate Failure Time Data

Ross L. Prentice, Hutchinson Cancer Research Ctr.

Methods for assessing dependency between pairs of censored failure time variates will be described. These include estimators of parameters in semiparametric models, including Clayton's constant relative-risk model, and estimators of nonparametric dependency measures, including an average relative risk measure and a finite region version of Kendall's tau. Nonparametric estimators of the bivariate survivor function provide a basic tool for such assessment, as well as for a range of other multivariate failure time data analysis topics. A modification of the bivariate survivor function estimator of Dabrowska that removes negative mass and appears to improve estimation efficiency will be presented, along with preliminary work on a corresponding nonparametric maximum likelihood estimator. Regression generalizations of these various statistics will be briefly mentioned, along with genetic epidemiologic motivations.

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