Using capture-recapture models to estimate transition rates between statesin interval-censored data

We introduce capture-recapture models, survival models developed in animal population biology to estimate survival / transition rates between sites wi thin a population. We then show how to use these models in epidemiology or clinical research, to estimate survival / transition rates between stages o f a disease (e.g. cancer, AIDS...), when patients enter a longitudinal stud y with imperfect follow-up resulting in interval-censoring. This method yie lds unbiased estimates, since the compliance (defined here as the probabili ty of visiting the doctor. at the planned date) is modelled jointly. We app ly the method to cancel. data, and show that "time" (elapsed since entry of a patient in the study) affects compliance in these data.