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Application of the theory of finite mixtures for the estimation of ‘cure’ rates of treated cancer patients
Author(s) -
Gordon N. H.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
statistics in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.996
H-Index - 183
eISSN - 1097-0258
pISSN - 0277-6715
DOI - 10.1002/sim.4780090411
Subject(s) - breast cancer , statistics , cure rate , medicine , maximum likelihood , cancer , estimation , survival function , disease , clinical trial , mathematics , survival analysis , management , economics
I assume the survival function of treated cancer patients to be a mixture of two subpopulations, with c equal to the proportion who will die of other causes, and 1 — c the proportion who will die of their disease. Using census data, I estimate the parameters of the survival distribution of those patients dying of other causes, and then use follow‐up data to determine the maximum likelihood estimates of the proportion constant c and the parameters of the survival function of those dying of their disease. I illustrate the methodology using data from a prospective clinical trial in breast cancer.