[R-meta] Meta-Analysis: Proportion in overall survival rate

[Gerta Ruecker]

Dear Nelly,

You could do this, at least in principle, if all proportions refer to 
the same timepoint, for example 5 years. The problem is that the data 
you obtain from studies with a time-to-event endpoint are different from 
those that directly provide a five-year survival proportion: The 
time-to-event analysis accounts for censoring, while the proportion of 
living after five years relatively to all patients at baseline usually 
does not account for censoring or missing data (and thus may 
underestimate the true proportion).

If I understand you correctly, you want to pool survival proportions 
(single-arm), not hazard ratios (comparing two arms).

The technical thing is that you have survival proportions with standard 
error from the time-to-event studies and single proportions (survived/n) 
from other studies. Survival proportions with standard errors can be 
pooled usingthe  generic inverse variance method. Proportions are best 
be pooled using generalized linear models. See, for example, the 
examples for function metaprop() in R package meta.

Best,

Gerta

Am 19.05.2020 um 14:15 schrieb ne gic:
> Dear List,
>
>  From time to event data, it's common to calculate a combined HR for
> instance from included studies - this I understand.
>
> Does it make sense to perform a meta-analysis of the proportion (%) one
> gets from overall time survival e.g. Overall 5y survival? imagine a
> scenario where different studies are reporting different proportions of
> patients surviving at this time point and I want to report a summary
> proportion from all the studies at this time point.
>
> If this is possible, does just collecting the proportion at that time point
> e.g. 5 year suffice as the data to use for this calculation? Or what would
> you suggest? Haven't seen a package that just takes a proportion.
>
> Sincerely,
> nelly
>
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-- 

Dr. rer. nat. Gerta Rücker, Dipl.-Math.

Institute of Medical Biometry and Statistics,
Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center - University of Freiburg

Stefan-Meier-Str. 26, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany

Phone:    +49/761/203-6673
Fax:      +49/761/203-6680
Mail:     ruecker using imbi.uni-freiburg.de
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