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In the analysis of clustered failure time data, Cox frailty models have been extensively studied by incorporating frailty with a prespecified distribution to address potential correlation of data within clusters. In this paper, we propose a frailty proportional mean residual life regression model to analyze such data. A novel conditional quasi‐likelihood inference procedure is developed, utilizing a stochastic process and the inverse probability of censoring weighting (IPCW) to form estimating equations for regression parameters. Our proposal employs conditional inference based on a penalized quasi‐likelihood to address within‐cluster correlation without need to specify the frailty distribution, bringing the method closer to what suffices for real‐world applications. By adopting the Buckley–James estimator in the IPCW, the method further allows for dependent censoring. We establish asymptotic properties of the proposed estimator and evaluate its finite sample performance via simulation studies. An application to the data from a multi‐institutional breast cancer study is presented for illustration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recurrent events with a dependent terminal event arise frequently in a wide variety of fields. In this paper, we propose a new joint model to analyze these data and model the dependence between recurrent and terminal events through shared gamma frailty. Specifically, a Cox–Aalen rate frailty model is specified for the recurrent event, and an additive hazards frailty model is specified for the terminal event. An estimating equation approach is developed for the parameters in the joint model, and the asymptotic properties of the proposed estimators are established. Simulation studies demonstrate that the proposed estimators perform well with finite samples. An application to a medical cost study of chronic heart failure patients is illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Panel count data occur in many clinical and observational studies, and in many situations, the observation process may be informative and also there may exist a terminal event such as death which stops the follow-up. In this article, we propose a new joint model for the analysis of panel count data in the presence of both an informative observation process and a dependent terminal event via two latent variables. For the inference on the proposed models, a class of estimating equations is developed and the resulting estimators are shown to be consistent and asymptotically normal. In addition, a lack-of-fit test is provided for assessing the adequacy of the models. Simulation studies suggest that the proposed approach works well for practical situations. A real example from a bladder cancer clinical trial is used to illustrate the proposed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we propose a class of additive transformation models for recurrent event data, which includes the additive rates model as a special case. The new models offer great flexibility in formulating the effects of covariates on the mean function of recurrent events. Estimating equation approaches are developed for the model parameters, and asymptotic properties of the resulting estimators are established. In addition, a model checking procedure is presented to assess the adequacy of the model. The finite sample performance of the proposed estimators is examined through simulation studies, and an application to a bladder cancer study is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recurrent events data with a terminal event often arise in many longitudinal studies. Most of existing models assume multiplicative covariate effects and model the conditional recurrent event rate given survival. In this article, we propose a marginal additive rates model for recurrent events with a terminal event, and develop two procedures for estimating the model parameters. The asymptotic properties of the resulting estimators are established. In addition, some numerical procedures are presented for model checking. The finite-sample behavior of the proposed methods is examined through simulation studies, and an application to a bladder cancer study is also illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mean residual life provides the remaining life expectancy of a subject who has survived to a certain time-point. When covariates are present, regression models are needed to study the association between the mean residual life function and potential regression covariates. In this paper, we propose a flexible class of semiparametric mean residual life models where some effects may be time-varying and some may be constant over time. In the presence of right censoring, we use the inverse probability of censoring weighting approach and develop inference procedures for estimating the model parameters. In addition, we provide graphical and numerical methods for model checking and tests for examining whether or not the covariate effects vary with time. Asymptotic and finite sample properties of the proposed estimators are established and the approach is applied to real life datasets collected from clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: When describing a failure time distribution, the mean residual life is sometimes preferred to the survival or hazard rate. Regression analysis making use of the mean residual life function has recently drawn a great deal of attention. In this paper, a class of mean residual life regression models are proposed for censored data, and estimation procedures and a goodness-of-fit test are developed. Both asymptotic and finite sample properties of the proposed estimators are established, and the proposed methods are applied to a cancer data set from a clinic trial. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this article, the authors consider a semiparametric additive hazards regression model for right-censored data that allows some censoring indicators to be missing at random. They develop a class of estimating equations and use an inverse probability weighted approach to estimate the regression parameters. Nonparametric smoothing techniques are employed to estimate the probability of non-missingness and the conditional probability of an uncensored observation. The asymptotic properties of the resulting estimators are derived. Simulation studies show that the proposed estimators perform well. They motivate and illustrate their methods with data from a brain cancer clinical trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses regression analysis of failure time data under the additive hazards model, with covariates subject to measurement errors. In particular, we consider the situation where there may exist only repeated measurements or observations on the covariates with measurement errors, and for which there does not exist any method for inference. A nonparametric-correction approach is proposed for inference about regression parameters and the baseline cumulative hazards function. Both asymptotic and finite sample properties of the proposed estimators are established and the approach is applied to an AIDS clinical trial that motivated this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]