Group-Sequential Clinical Trials with Multiple Co-Objectives


Book Description

This book focuses on group sequential methods for clinical trials with co-primary endpoints based on the decision-making frameworks for: (1) rejecting the null hypothesis (stopping for efficacy), (2) rejecting the alternative hypothesis (stopping for futility), and (3) rejecting the null or alternative hypothesis (stopping for either futility or efficacy), where the trial is designed to evaluate whether the intervention is superior to the control on all endpoints. For assessing futility, there are two fundamental approaches, i.e., the decision to stop for futility based on the conditional probability of rejecting the null hypothesis, and the other based on stopping boundaries using group sequential methods. In this book, the latter approach is discussed. The book also briefly deals with the group sequential methods for clinical trials designed to evaluate whether the intervention is superior to the control on at least one endpoint. In addition, the book describes sample size recalculation and the resulting effect on power and type I error rate. The book also describes group sequential strategies for three-arm clinical trials to demonstrate the non-inferiority of experimental intervention to actively control and to assess the assay sensitivity to placebo control.




Group Sequential Methods with Applications to Clinical Trials


Book Description

Group sequential methods answer the needs of clinical trial monitoring committees who must assess the data available at an interim analysis. These interim results may provide grounds for terminating the study-effectively reducing costs-or may benefit the general patient population by allowing early dissemination of its findings. Group sequential methods provide a means to balance the ethical and financial advantages of stopping a study early against the risk of an incorrect conclusion. Group Sequential Methods with Applications to Clinical Trials describes group sequential stopping rules designed to reduce average study length and control Type I and II error probabilities. The authors present one-sided and two-sided tests, introduce several families of group sequential tests, and explain how to choose the most appropriate test and interim analysis schedule. Their topics include placebo-controlled randomized trials, bio-equivalence testing, crossover and longitudinal studies, and linear and generalized linear models. Research in group sequential analysis has progressed rapidly over the past 20 years. Group Sequential Methods with Applications to Clinical Trials surveys and extends current methods for planning and conducting interim analyses. It provides straightforward descriptions of group sequential hypothesis tests in a form suited for direct application to a wide variety of clinical trials. Medical statisticians engaged in any investigations planned with interim analyses will find this book a useful and important tool.




Oncology Clinical Trials


Book Description

Clinical trials are the engine of progress in the development of new drugs and devices for the detection, monitoring, prevention and treatment of cancer. A well conceived, carefully designed and efficiently conducted clinical trial can produce results that change clinical practice overnight, deliver new oncology drugs and diagnostics to the marketplace, and expand the horizon of contemporary thinking about cancer biology. A poorly done trial does little to advance the field or guide clinical practice, consumes precious clinical and financial resources and challenges the validity of the ethical contract between investigators and the volunteers who willingly give their time and effort to benefit future patients. With chapters written by oncologists, researchers, biostatisticians, clinical research administrators, and industry and FDA representatives, Oncology Clinical Trials, provides a comprehensive guide for both early-career and senior oncology investigators into the successful design, conduct and analysis of an oncology clinical trial. Oncology Clinical Trials covers how to formulate a study question, selecting a study population, study design of Phase I, II, and III trials, toxicity monitoring, data analysis and reporting, use of genomics, cost-effectiveness analysis, systemic review and meta-analysis, and many other issues. Many examples of real-life flaws in clinical trials that have been reported in the literature are included throughout. The book discusses clinical trials from start to finish focusing on real-life examples in the development, design and analysis of clinical trials. Oncology Clinical Trials features: A systematic guide to all aspects of the design, conduct, analysis, and reporting of clinical trials in oncology Contributions from oncologists, researchers, biostatisticians, clinical research administrators, and industry and FDA representatives Hot topics in oncology trials including multi-arm trials, meta-analysis and adaptive design, use of genomics, and cost-effectiveness analysis Real-life examples from reported clinical trials included throughout




Multiple Testing Problems in Pharmaceutical Statistics


Book Description

Useful Statistical Approaches for Addressing Multiplicity IssuesIncludes practical examples from recent trials Bringing together leading statisticians, scientists, and clinicians from the pharmaceutical industry, academia, and regulatory agencies, Multiple Testing Problems in Pharmaceutical Statistics explores the rapidly growing area of multiple c




Adaptive Design Methods in Clinical Trials


Book Description

With new statistical and scientific issues arising in adaptive clinical trial design, including the U.S. FDA's recent draft guidance, a new edition of one of the first books on the topic is needed. Adaptive Design Methods in Clinical Trials, Second Edition reflects recent developments and regulatory positions on the use of adaptive designs in clini




Modern Approaches to Clinical Trials Using SAS


Book Description

Get the tools you need to use SAS® in clinical trial design! Unique and multifaceted, Modern Approaches to Clinical Trials Using SAS: Classical, Adaptive, and Bayesian Methods, edited by Sandeep M. Menon and Richard C. Zink, thoroughly covers several domains of modern clinical trial design: classical, group sequential, adaptive, and Bayesian methods that are applicable to and widely used in various phases of pharmaceutical development. Written for biostatisticians, pharmacometricians, clinical developers, and statistical programmers involved in the design, analysis, and interpretation of clinical trials, as well as students in graduate and postgraduate programs in statistics or biostatistics, the book touches on a wide variety of topics, including dose-response and dose-escalation designs; sequential methods to stop trials early for overwhelming efficacy, safety, or futility; Bayesian designs that incorporate historical data; adaptive sample size re-estimation; adaptive randomization to allocate subjects to more effective treatments; and population enrichment designs. Methods are illustrated using clinical trials from diverse therapeutic areas, including dermatology, endocrinology, infectious disease, neurology, oncology, and rheumatology. Individual chapters are authored by renowned contributors, experts, and key opinion leaders from the pharmaceutical/medical device industry or academia. Numerous real-world examples and sample SAS code enable users to readily apply novel clinical trial design and analysis methodologies in practice.




Sample Size Determination in Clinical Trials with Multiple Endpoints


Book Description

This book integrates recent methodological developments for calculating the sample size and power in trials with more than one endpoint considered as multiple primary or co-primary, offering an important reference work for statisticians working in this area. The determination of sample size and the evaluation of power are fundamental and critical elements in the design of clinical trials. If the sample size is too small, important effects may go unnoticed; if the sample size is too large, it represents a waste of resources and unethically puts more participants at risk than necessary. Recently many clinical trials have been designed with more than one endpoint considered as multiple primary or co-primary, creating a need for new approaches to the design and analysis of these clinical trials. The book focuses on the evaluation of power and sample size determination when comparing the effects of two interventions in superiority clinical trials with multiple endpoints. Methods for sample size calculation in clinical trials where the alternative hypothesis is that there are effects on ALL endpoints are discussed in detail. The book also briefly examines trials designed with an alternative hypothesis of an effect on AT LEAST ONE endpoint with a prespecified non-ordering of endpoints.




Continuous Multivariate Distributions, Volume 1


Book Description

Seit dem Erscheinen der ersten Auflage dieses Werkes (1972) hat sich das Gebiet der kontinuierlichen multivariaten Verteilungen rasch weiterentwickelt. Moderne Anwendungsfelder sind die Erforschung von Hochwasser, Erdbeben, Regenfällen und Stürmen. Entsprechend wurde das Buch überarbeitet und erweitert: Nunmehr zwei Bände beschreiben eine Vielzahl multivariater Verteilungsmodelle anhand zahlreicher Beispiele. (05/00)




Group Sequential and Confirmatory Adaptive Designs in Clinical Trials


Book Description

This book provides an up-to-date review of the general principles of and techniques for confirmatory adaptive designs. Confirmatory adaptive designs are a generalization of group sequential designs. With these designs, interim analyses are performed in order to stop the trial prematurely under control of the Type I error rate. In adaptive designs, it is also permissible to perform a data-driven change of relevant aspects of the study design at interim stages. This includes, for example, a sample-size reassessment, a treatment-arm selection or a selection of a pre-specified sub-population. Essentially, this adaptive methodology was introduced in the 1990s. Since then, it has become popular and the object of intense discussion and still represents a rapidly growing field of statistical research. This book describes adaptive design methodology at an elementary level, while also considering designing and planning issues as well as methods for analyzing an adaptively planned trial. This includes estimation methods and methods for the determination of an overall p-value. Part I of the book provides the group sequential methods that are necessary for understanding and applying the adaptive design methodology supplied in Parts II and III of the book. The book contains many examples that illustrate use of the methods for practical application. The book is primarily written for applied statisticians from academia and industry who are interested in confirmatory adaptive designs. It is assumed that readers are familiar with the basic principles of descriptive statistics, parameter estimation and statistical testing. This book will also be suitable for an advanced statistical course for applied statisticians or clinicians with a sound statistical background.




Survival Analysis with Correlated Endpoints


Book Description

This book introduces readers to advanced statistical methods for analyzing survival data involving correlated endpoints. In particular, it describes statistical methods for applying Cox regression to two correlated endpoints by accounting for dependence between the endpoints with the aid of copulas. The practical advantages of employing copula-based models in medical research are explained on the basis of case studies. In addition, the book focuses on clustered survival data, especially data arising from meta-analysis and multicenter analysis. Consequently, the statistical approaches presented here employ a frailty term for heterogeneity modeling. This brings the joint frailty-copula model, which incorporates a frailty term and a copula, into a statistical model. The book also discusses advanced techniques for dealing with high-dimensional gene expressions and developing personalized dynamic prediction tools under the joint frailty-copula model. To help readers apply the statistical methods to real-world data, the book provides case studies using the authors’ original R software package (freely available in CRAN). The emphasis is on clinical survival data, involving time-to-tumor progression and overall survival, collected on cancer patients. Hence, the book offers an essential reference guide for medical statisticians and provides researchers with advanced, innovative statistical tools. The book also provides a concise introduction to basic multivariate survival models.




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