A Semiparametric Model for Regression Analysis of Interval-Censored Failure Time Data

Left-, right-, and interval-censored response time data arise in a variety of settings, including the analyses of data from laboratory animal carcinogenicity experiments, clinical trials, and longitudinal studies. For such incomplete data, the usual regression techniques such as the Cox (1972, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series B 34, 187-220) proportional hazards model are inapplicable. In this paper, we present a method for regression analysis which accommodates interval-censored data. We present applications of this methodology to data sets from a study of breast cancer patients who were followed for cosmetic response to therapy, a small animal tumorigenicity study, and a clinical trial.