Testing relative risk under random censoring

Abstract

We consider the problem of testing H0 : F1=F2 on the basis of two independent random samples of randomly right censored survival times. Tests for H0 are developed when the alternatives of primary interest are of the type is increasing (decreasing) or H* : F1/F2 is increasing (decreasing). Asymptotic normality of the test statistic is proved by counting process techniques and the testing procedures are illustrated through application to a well-known data set in the survival analysis literature.Censored data Counting processes Gaussian processes Hazard rate ordering Kaplan-Meier estimator Retro-hazard Reversed hazard rate ordering Risk ratio