DERIVING MORE UP-TO-DATE ESTIMATES OF LONG-TERM PATIENT SURVIVAL

Statistics reflective of patient survival should be as up-to-date as p ossible. We illustrate that traditional methods for analysing survival have important limitations with regard to up-to-dateness of long-term cumulative survival estimates. We propose an alternative approach, de noted ''period analysis,'' that may be used to overcome or at least su bstantially reduce these limitations. The conceptual background and th e computational realization of the new method are outlined and its app lication is illustrated by an analysis of long-term survival of patien ts with testicular cancer in Saarland, Germany. Copyright (C) 1997 Els evier Science Inc.