Journal
PHARMACEUTICAL STATISTICS
Volume -, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/pst.2349
Keywords
Bayesian clinical trials; borrowing historical information; fixed-margin approach; Hellinger distance; normal endpoints; unknown variance
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This paper proposes a method to construct the prior distribution of the control effect parameter using previous data, and compares normal means using MCMC to handle the unknown variance assumption. A simulation study is conducted to analyze the frequentist size and power of the proposed test, and comparisons with some existing methods are investigated.
Non-inferiority trials compare new experimental therapies to standard ones (active control). In these experiments, historical information on the control treatment is often available. This makes Bayesian methodology appealing since it allows a natural way to exploit information from past studies. In the present paper, we suggest the use of previous data for constructing the prior distribution of the control effect parameter. Specifically, we consider a dynamic power prior that possibly allows to discount the level of borrowing in the presence of heterogeneity between past and current control data. The discount parameter of the prior is based on the Hellinger distance between the posterior distributions of the control parameter based, respectively, on historical and current data. We develop the methodology for comparing normal means and we handle the unknown variance assumption using MCMC. We also provide a simulation study to analyze the proposed test in terms of frequentist size and power, as it is usually requested by regulatory agencies. Finally, we investigate comparisons with some existing methods and we illustrate an application to a real case study.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available