Abstract
One of the challenges of interpreting a Quality-adjusted time without symptoms of disease and toxicity (Q-TWiST) analysis is examining the sensitivity of conclusions that may be drawn to varying values of the utility coefficients for days with toxicity and days after disease progression. We present a graphic that parsimoniously displays the impact on median Q-TWiST survival across treatment groups of varying values of the utility coefficients. The goal of the graphic is to present a concise Q-TWiST analysis. We use Zhao and Tsiatis (Biometrika 1997; 84(2): 339-348) to adjust for the bias in Kaplan-Meier (K-M) estimates. The graphic contains bounds that approximate points for which statistical significance would be achieved by comparing the median Q-TWiST survival between treatment alternatives for each value of the utility coefficients. The plot may be generalized to compare Q-TWiST means, medians or percentiles across treatment groups. We demonstrate the application of the Q-TWiST plot through a re-analysis of a randomized phase III North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) clinical trial of recombinant Interferon-2α in patients with malignant melanoma. We explore alternative options to customize the graphic representation for other data sets drawn from several NCCTG clinical trials.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 37-45 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Quality of Life Research |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2002 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Kaplan-Meier estimates
- Q-TWiST
- Survival analysis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health