Nonparametric versus Parametric Estimation of the Cure Fraction Using Interval Censored Data

Abstract

This article discusses estimation of the cure rate by means of the bounded cumulative hazard (BCH) model using interval censored data. The parametric and nonparametric estimation methods within the framework of the EM algorithm were employed for cure rate estimation and their results compared. The Turnbull estimator was used in the nonparametric estimation while in parametric method both the exponential and Weibull distributions were considered. We show via simulation that the nonparametric method is a viable alternative to the parametric one when the censoring rate is rapidly increasing.