Enhanced secondary analysis of survival data: reconstructing the data from published Kaplan-Meier survival curves.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The results of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) on time-to-event outcomes that are usually reported are median time to events and Cox Hazard Ratio. These do not constitute the sufficient statistics required for meta-analysis or cost-effectiveness analysis, and their use in secondary analyses requires strong assumptions that may not have been adequately tested. In order to enhance the quality of secondary data analyses, we propose a method which derives from the published Kaplan Meier survival curves a close approximation to the original individual patient time-to-event data from which they were generated.

Methods

We develop an algorithm that maps from digitised curves back to KM data by finding numerical solutions to the inverted KM equations, using where avail

SUBMITTER: Guyot P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3313891 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature