The Cox model and its applications (Q282731)

This book is about the Cox model (proportional hazards) in survival analysis, with a specific emphasis on extensions of and deviation from the basic proportional hazards model. In focus are so-called cross-effect models, where hazard functions cross at some time point. This is a special case of the generalized proportional hazards (GPH) model, where the proportionality ``constant'' really is not constant, but a function of the probability of survival \(p\) to the time point in focus. However, the authors start by introducing the standard survival analysis theory in the three first chapters. A selection of classical data examples for survival analysis, including the Stanford Heart Transplant Data, are described and used for illustration later. The Nelson-Aalen and Kaplan-Meier estimators are introduced and the concept of stress is emphasized. Cox's regression model is introduced and some examples of alternatives are discussed. In chapter four, the accelerated failure time (AFT) model is introduced, together with the GPH model and variants thereof. Chapters five and six discusses cross-effect models and chapter seven is devoted to goodness-of-fit considerations relative to the Cox model. Finally, the book rounds of with some remarks on computational aspects in parametric and semiparametric estimation and a discussion of aging, failure, and degradation. The book is supposed to be suitable for a short course for biostatisticians, demographers, and researchers in other related fields.