title: Comparing areas under receiver operating characteristic curves: potential impact of the "Last" experimentally measured operating point.
abstract: A specific issue related to the selection of the analytic tool used when comparing the estimated performance of systems within the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) paradigm is reviewed. This issue is related to the possible effect of the last experimentally ascertained ROC data point in terms of highest true-positive and false-positive fractions. An example of a case is presented where the selection of a specific analysis approach could affect the study conclusion from being not statistically significant for parametric analysis and significant for nonparametric analysis. This is followed by recommendations that should help prevent misinterpretation of results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Imaging Research, FARP Building, 3362 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. gurd@upmc.edu
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gur
authors.forename: Andriy I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Bandos
authors.forename: Howard E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Rockette
mesh_terms: D019540:Area Under Curve; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D006801:Humans; D012372:ROC Curve