Bayesian transformation hazard models

Abstract

We propose a class of transformation hazard models for rightcensored failure time data. It includes the proportional hazards model (Cox) and the additive hazards model (Lin and Ying) as special cases. Due to the requirement of a nonnegative hazard function, multidimensional parameter constraints must be imposed in the model formulation. In the Bayesian paradigm, the nonlinear parameter constraint introduces many new computational challenges. We propose a prior through a conditional-marginal specification, in which the conditional distribution is univariate, and absorbs all of the nonlinear parameter constraints. The marginal part of the prior specification is free of any constraints. This class of prior distributions allows us to easily compute the full conditionals needed for Gibbs sampling, and hence implement the Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm in a relatively straightforward fashion. Model comparison is based on the conditional predictive ordinate and the deviance information criterion. This new class of models is illustrated with a simulation study and a real dataset from a melanoma clinical trial.