10.31: Survival Analysis I

Learning objectives

• Give an example of a research question for which survival analysis could be used

• Describe the purpose of the Kaplan-Meier curve

• Generate a Kaplan-Meier curve in R

Classwise videos

If you have questions as you watch the videos, feel free to send me an email or slack message! I will address common questions at the beginning of class.

Textbook

ISLR chapter 11 through section 11.4

Application exercise

ISLR Lab 11.8. Stop when it says “Next, we fit the Cox model”

As you work through the lab, discuss the following:

1. What does the status variable mean?
2. What is the outcome?
3. What does the y-axis of the Kaplan-Meier plot mean?
4. What do you observe with the Kaplan-Meier plot?
5. What do you conclude from the log-rank test?
6. Create another Kaplan-Meier plot using a covariate other than sex. Compute the log-rank test. What do you observe from the plot and what do you conclude from the test?