I am trying to interpret the survival curves found in the JUPITER
trial published in the NEJM last november and I am struggling with the
interpretation of these curves.
At the start of the trial there were 8901 patients in each group, the
trial was stopped by the sponsor after 1,9 years for apparent large
benefit for the treatment group, and there remained less than 200
subjects at risk at the end of the 5 year follow-up. The hazard ratio
is calculated at 5 years and shows a large benefit, but less than 2%
remained at that time...
I am no expert in survival curves, but isn't there something wrong
with the interpretation ??
Could someone help me with the interpretation of these curves?? and
the decay of the number at risk and its effect on the interpretation
of such a survival curve.
The JUPITER trial slides can be found at : http://www.brighamandwomens.org/publicaffairs/Images/JUPITER%20Slides%20for%20BWH%20to%20Post%20November%209.pdf
Many thanks !
Jean Levasseur MD, MSc
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