Modestly Weighted Logrank Tests

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new class of weighted logrank tests designed to better control the risk of false conclusions in clinical trials, especially under delayed treatment effects, while maintaining efficiency.

Contribution

It proposes a novel class of WLRT that balances power and error control, addressing limitations of existing tests in delayed-effect scenarios.

Findings

High power under delayed-onset effects

Comparable efficiency to standard logrank tests under proportional hazards

Improved risk control in specific clinical trial settings

Abstract

We propose a new class of weighted logrank tests (WLRT) that control the risk of concluding that a new drug is more efficacious than standard of care, when, in fact, it is uniformly inferior. Perhaps surprisingly, this risk is not controlled for WLRT in general. Tests from this new class can be constructed to have high power under a delayed-onset treatment effect scenario, as well as being almost as efficient as the standard logrank test under proportional hazards.