title: Adaptive group sequential designs for clinical trials: combining the advantages of adaptive and of classical group sequential approaches.
abstract: A general method is presented integrating the concept of adaptive interim analyses into classical group sequential testing. This allows the researcher to represent every group sequential plan as an adaptive trial design and to make design changes during the course of the trial after every interim analysis in the same way as with adaptive designs. The concept of adaptive trial designing is thereby generalized to a large variety of possible sequential plans.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Biometry and Epidemiology, Philipps-University of Marburg, Germany. muellerh@mailer.uni-marburg.de
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schäfer
mesh_terms: D001699:Biometry; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy; D006801:Humans; D015233:Models, Statistical; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000628:therapy