title: Tree-augmented Cox proportional hazards models.
abstract: We study a hybrid model that combines Cox proportional hazards regression with tree-structured modeling. The main idea is to use step functions, provided by a tree structure, to 'augment' Cox (1972) proportional hazards models. The proposed model not only provides a natural assessment of the adequacy of the Cox proportional hazards model but also improves its model fitting without loss of interpretability. Both simulations and an empirical example are provided to illustrate the use of the proposed method.
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA. xsu@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu
authors.forename: Xiaogang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Chih-Ling
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Tsai
mesh_terms: D001699:Biometry; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis