A0622
Title: Multiple contrast tests for RMTLs in factorial competing risks settings
Authors: Merle Munko - Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg (Germany) [presenting]
Dennis Dobler - RWTH Aachen University (Germany)
Marc Ditzhaus - Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg (Germany)
Abstract: Easy-to-interpret effect estimands are highly desirable in survival analysis. In the competing-risks framework, one good candidate is the restricted mean time lost (RMTL). It is defined as the area under the cumulative incidence function (CIF) up to a prespecified time point and, thus, it summarizes the CIF into a meaningful estimand. While existing RMTL-based tests are limited to two-sample comparisons and two risks, we aim to develop general contrast tests for factorial designs and an arbitrary number of risks based on a Wald-type test statistic. Furthermore, the often-made, rather restrictive continuity assumption is avoided on the event time distribution. This allows for ties in the data, which often occur in practical applications, e.g., when event times are measured in (whole) days. In addition, more reliable tests are developed for RMTL comparisons that are based on resampling procedures to improve the small sample performance. In a second step, multiple tests for RMTL comparisons are developed to test several null hypotheses simultaneously. The asymptotically exact dependence structure is incorporated between the local test statistics to gain more power.
