Effect of latency on calculated complication rates.
Late complications of radiation therapy and other cancer therapies may not always be expressed because of the shortened survival of cancer patients. Methods for estimating the true complication rate must account for censoring of the data. Actuarial methods give the time-dependent probability of remaining free of the injury. However, these methods fail when the last surviving patient develops a complication. This study describes a different method for calculating the corrected complication rate. One advantage is that the method does not produce estimates of 100% for the complication rate that occur using the actuarial method when the last survivor suffers a complication. To use the method presented here, the distribution of latent periods of the injury and the survival function for the patients at risk must be identified.
D000206:Actuarial Analysis; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011336:Probability; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013997:Time Factors