Regression analysis of restricted mean survival time based on pseudo-observations for competing risks data

ABSTRACT

Competing risks data often occur in many medical follow-up studies. When the survival time is the outcome variable, the restricted mean survival time has heuristic and clinically meaningful interpretation. In this article, we propose a class of regression models for the restricted mean survival time in the competing risks setting. We adopt a technique of pseudo-observations to develop estimating equation approaches for the model parameters and establish asymptotic properties of the resulting estimators. The finite-sample behavior of the proposed method is evaluated through simulation studies, and an application to the Women’s Interagency HIV Study is provided.

KEYWORDS:

• Competing risks
• Generalized estimating equation
• Pseudo-observations
• Regression models
• Restricted mean.

MATHEMATICS SUBJECT CLASSIFICATION:

• Primary: 62N01
• Secondary: 62J02, 62N02

Funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Grant (No. 11771431, 11690015, and 71501016), Key Laboratory of RCSDS, CAS (No. 2008DP173182) and Qin Xin Talents Cultivation Program (QXTCP B201705), Beijing Information Science & Technology University.