Statistics and Probability Commons^™

Session D-5: Informal Comparative Inference: What Is It?, Karen Togliatti

Professional Learning Day

Come and experience a hands-on task that has middle-school students grapple with informal inferential reasoning. Three key principles of informal inference – data as evidence, probabilistic language, and generalizing ‘beyond the data’ will be discussed as students build and analyze distributions to answer the question, “Does hand dominance play a role in throwing accuracy?” Connections to the CCSSM statistics standards for middle-school will be highlighted.

Session D-1: Lies, Damn Lies, And Statistics, Peter Dong, Joseph Traina

Professional Learning Day

The crucial and sometimes difficult areas of data analysis and statistics can be made clearer by looking at examples of how they can be done badly - examples which, unfortunately, are easy to find. We share our experience teaching a short course which examines disingenuous graphs, biased surveys, deliberately misworded statements, and other methods of misrepresenting data. The negative examples provide an opportunity to discuss how statistics should properly be done, and explain what can happen when statistics are used incorrectly. We include a discussion of the failure of polls to predict the outcome of the presidential election.

Effect Of Immediate Initiation Of Antiretroviral Therapy On Risk Of Severe Bacterial Infections In Hiv-Positive People With Cd4 Cell Counts Of More Than 500 Cells Per Μl: Secondary Outcome Results From A Randomised Controlled Trial., Jemma O'Connor, Michael J Vjecha, Andrew N Phillips, Brian Angus, David Cooper, Fred Gordin, +Several Additional Authors

Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The effects of antiretroviral therapy on risk of severe bacterial infections in people with high CD4 cell counts have not been well described. In this study, we aimed to quantify the effects of immediate versus deferred ART on the risk of severe bacterial infection in people with high CD4 cell counts in a preplanned analysis of the START trial.

METHODS: The START trial was a randomised controlled trial in ART-naive HIV-positive patients with CD4 cell count of more than 500 cells per μL assigned to immediate ART or deferral until their CD4 cell counts were lower than 350 cells …

A Statistical Method For The Conservative Adjustment Of False Discovery Rate (Q-Value), Yinglei Lai

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

Background

q-value is a widely used statistical method for estimating false discovery rate (FDR), which is a conventional significance measure in the analysis of genome-wide expression data. q-value is a random variable and it may underestimate FDR in practice. An underestimated FDR can lead to unexpected false discoveries in the follow-up validation experiments. This issue has not been well addressed in literature, especially in the situation when the permutation procedure is necessary for p-value calculation.

Results

We proposed a statistical method for the conservative adjustment of q-value. In practice, it is usually necessary to calculate p …

Using A Respiratory Navigator Significantly Reduces Variability When Quantifying Left Ventricular Torsion With Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, Sean M. Hamlet, Christopher M. Haggerty, Jonathan D. Suever, Gregory J. Wehner, Kristin N. Andres, David K. Powell, Richard J. Charnigo, Brandon K. Fornwalt

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: Left ventricular (LV) torsion is an important indicator of cardiac function that is limited by high inter-test variability (50% of the mean value). We hypothesized that this high inter-test variability is partly due to inconsistent breath-hold positions during serial image acquisitions, which could be significantly improved by using a respiratory navigator for cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) based quantification of LV torsion.

Methods: We assessed respiratory-related variability in measured LV torsion with two distinct experimental protocols. First, 17 volunteers were recruited for CMR with cine displacement encoding with stimulated echoes (DENSE) in which a respiratory navigator was used to measure …

Differences In Hemodynamics And Rupture Rate Of Aneurysms At The Bifurcation Of The Basilar And Internal Carotid Arteries, Ravi Doddasomayajula, Bong Jae Chung, Farid Hamzei-Sichani, Christopher M. Putman, Juan Cebral

Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cerebral aneurysms in the posterior circulation are known to have a higher rupture risk than those in the anterior circulation. We sought to test the hypothesis that differences in hemodynamics can explain the difference in rupture rates.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 117 aneurysms, 63 at the tip of the basilar artery (27 ruptured, 36 unruptured, rupture rate = 43%) and 54 at the bifurcation of the internal carotid artery (11 ruptured, 43 unruptured, rupture rate = 20%) were analyzed with image-based computational fluid dynamics. Several hemodynamic variables were compared among aneurysms at each location and …

An Online Educational Program Improves Pediatric Oncology Nurses’ Knowledge, Attitudes, And Spiritual Care Competence, Cheryl L. Petersen, Margaret Callahan, Donna O. Mccarthy, Ronda G. Hughes, Rosemary White-Traut, Naveen K. Bansal

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

This study evaluated the potential impact of an online spiritual care educational program on pediatric nurses’ attitudes toward and knowledge of spiritual care and their competence to provide spiritual care to children with cancer at the end of life. It was hypothesized that the intervention would increase nurses’ positive attitudes toward and knowledge of spiritual care and increase nurses’ level of perceived spiritual care competence. A positive correlation was expected between change in nurses’ perceived attitudes toward and knowledge of spiritual care and change in nurses’ perceived spiritual care competence. A prospective, longitudinal design was employed, and analyses included one-way …

Using Ranked Auxiliary Covariate As A More Efficient Sampling Design For Ancova Model: Analysis Of A Psychological Intervention To Buttress Resilience, Rajai Jabrah, Hani Samawi, Robert Vogel, Haresh Rochani, Daniel Linder

Biostatistics: Faculty Publications

Drawing a sample can be costly or time consuming in some studies. However, it may be possible to rank the sampling units according to some baseline auxiliary covariates, which are easily obtainable, and/or cost efficient. Ranked set sampling (RSS) is a method to achieve this goal. In this paper, we propose a modified approach of the RSS method to allocate units into an experimental study that compares L groups. Computer simulation estimates the empirical nominal values and the empirical power values for the test procedure of comparing L different groups using modified RSS based on the regression approach in analysis …

The Role Of Functional, Social, And Mobility Dynamics In Facilitating Older African Americans Participation In Clinical Research, Eve T. Shapiro, Jay T. Schamel, Kimberly A. Parker, Laura A. Randall, Paula M. Frew

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Purpose: Older African Americans experience disproportionately higher incidence of morbidity and mortality related to chronic and infectious diseases, yet are significantly underrepresented in clinical research compared to other racial and ethnic groups. This study aimed to understand the extent to which social support, transportation access, and physical impediments function as barriers or facilitators to clinical trial recruitment of older African Americans. Methods: Participants (N=221) were recruited from six African American churches in Atlanta and surveyed on various influences on clinical trial participation.

Risk Factors Of Premature Rupture Of Membrane, Maryuni Maryuni, Dedeh Kurniasih

Kesmas

Angka kematian ibu di Indonesia berdasarkan Survei Demografi dan Kesehatan Indonesia (SDKI) tahun 2012 sebanyak 359 per 100.000 kelahiran hidup. Penyebab kematian ibu tersebut masih didominasi oleh pendarahan, pre-eklampsia/eklampsia, dan infeksi. Salah satu penyebab infeksi adalah ketuban pecah dini (KPD). KPD dapat meningkatkan morbiditas dan mortalitas pada ibu dan anak. Insiden kejadian KPD sekitar 10,7% dari seluruh persalinan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui faktor risiko kejadian KPD di Rumah Sakit Ibu dan Anak (RSIA) ANNISA Citeureup, Kabupaten Bogor tahun 2014. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian analitik dengan rancangan penelitian kasus kontrol. Sampel terdiri dari 114 orang kasus ibu yang mengalami KPD …

Evaluation Of Momentum Male Sterilization Service Effectiveness As An Attempt To Reach Muri Record, Endah Winarni, Muhammad Dawam

Kesmas

Pencapaian Program KB di Sumatera Utara kurang menggembirakan. Total Fertility Rate Sumatera Utara (3,0) lebih tinggi dibandingkan nasional (2,6); dan prevalensi kontrasepsi (55,9 %) lebih rendah dibandingkan nasional (61,9%). Sebagai salah satu strategi peningkatan kesertaan KB, pelayanan momentum sterilisasi pria dikhawatirkan tidak memenuhi standar pelayanan karena dikaitkan dengan rekor MURI. Evaluasi ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan kualitas pelaksanaan pelayanan dan kepuasan akseptor sterilisasi pria. Evaluasi bersifat kualitatif dan kuantitatif dilakukan secara potong lintang terhadap petugas KB, calon akseptor dan akseptor yang mendapat tindakan sterilisasi pada pelayanan momentum di 13 fasilitas kesehatan di Kota Medan, Sumatera Utara pada 23-24 Oktober 2012. Data …

The Impact Of National Health Insurance Policy To The Implementation Of Health Promotion Program On Public Health Center In Indonesia, Mochamad Iqbal Nurmansyah, Bulent Kilic

Kesmas

Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN) telah diimplementasikan di Indonesia pada 1 Januari 2014. Hal tersebut membawa beberapa perubahan pada aspek manajerial pada pusat kesehatan masyarakat (puskesmas). Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi dampak dari kebijakan JKN terhadap implementasi program promosi kesehatan di puskesmas di Kota Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia. Penelitian menggunakan metode kualitatif. Data dikumpulkan pada Februari – Maret 2016. Dampak program dilihat dalam hal kebijakan, pendanaan, fasilitas, sumber daya manusia dan pelaksanaan program promosi kesehatan. Dengan menggunakan metode purposive sampling, enam pengambil kebijakan, delapan pemberi layanan dan delapan penerima layanan diambil sebagai informan dalam penelitian ini. Pada analisis dokumen, 17 dokumen telah …

Effect Of School Community Empowerment Model Towards Handwashing Implementation Among Elementary School Students In Dayeuhkolot Subdistrict, Tetti Solehati, Cecep Eli Kosasih, Sri Susilawati, Mamat Lukman, Sayu Putu Yuni Paryati

Kesmas

Perilaku mencuci tangan dengan sabun di Indonesia masih menjadi masalah. Penyebabnya dikaitkan dengan kurangnya kesadaran dalam mencuci tangan pakai sabun. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh pemberdayaan komunitas sekolah terhadap penerapan mencuci tangan di kalangan siswa sekolah dasar di Kecamatan Dayeuhkolot, Kabupaten Bandung. Penelitian ini menggunakan desain quasi eksperimental dengan pretest dan posttest serta melakukan analisis deskriptif dan inferensial. Sampel terdiri dari 24 guru, 377 siswa di kelas 4-6, dan 24 dokter kecil. Metode pendekatan dalam penelitian ini menggunakan usaha kesehatan sekolah terpadu (gabungan model fit for school dan UKS terpilih), yang terdiri dari enam tahap. Instrumen terdiri dari kuesioner …

Acceptance Of Medical Resume Completion At Dr. Radjiman Wediodiningrat Lawang Psychiatric Hospital, Silvia Shinta Devi, Aryo Dewanto, Lukman Hakim

Kesmas

Sistem kesehatan di Indonesia mengalami perubahan besar dengan diberlakukannya program Asuransi Kesehatan Nasional. Resume medis memiliki peran penting dalam klaim asuransi kesehatan, sehingga resume medis yang terlambat dan tidak lengkap akan mengganggu proses klaim asuransi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh persepsi kemudahan penggunaan, persepsi manfaat, dan sikap pada penerimaan dokter dalam menyelesaikan resume medis. di Dr Radjiman Wedyodiningrat Psychiatric Hospital Lawang berdasarkan Technology Acceptance Model. Technology Acceptance Model digunakan sebagai model dalam penelitian ini karena resume medis merupakan salah satu bentuk teknologi informasi yang masih dilakukan secara manual. Pengumpulan data untuk penelitian ini dilakukan pada bulan Maret 2016 dengan …

Risk Factors Of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome In Food-Packing Workers Karanganyar, Haris Setyawan

Kesmas

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) terjadi ketika saraf median, yang membentang dari lengan bawah ke tangan, mengalami tekanan atau terpuntir di pergelangan tangan. Hasilnya mungkin sakit, kelemahan atau mati rasa di tangan dan pergelangan tangan, yang memancar ke lengan tangan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji faktor risiko usia, jenis kelamin, masa kerja dan gerakan repetitif terhadap keluhan CTS pada pekerja pengepakan makanan di Karanganyar. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan pada bulan Oktober – Desember 2014 menggunakan desain observational analitik dengan penelitian potong lintang. Sampel terdiri dari 50 orang dari total 67 pekerja pengepak makanan di kawasan industri Jaten Karanganyar yang diambil dengan menggunakan …

Psychosocial Determinants Of Risky Sexual Behavior Among Senior High School Students In Merauke District, Fenny Etrawati, Evi Martha, Rita Damayanti

Kesmas

Remaja usia 10-24 tahun merupakan kelompok yang rentan terhadap perilaku seksual pranikah, penyalahgunaan narkoba dan infeksi HIV/AIDS. Papua merupakan penyumbang angka HIV/AIDS terbesar di Indonesia. Untuk menanggulangi permasalahan tersebut Rutgers WPF membentuk suatu program intervensi kesehatan reproduksi remaja di tingkat sekolah menengah atas (SMA) yakni program Dunia Remajaku Seru! (DAKU!). Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui determinan psikososial perilaku seksual berisiko pada siswa SMA di Kabupaten Merauke dengan menggunakan pendekatan potong lintang. Sampel berjumlah 1.364 siswa SMA kelas dua yang mendapatkan program DAKU!dan dilakukan proses pencocokan pada sekolah yang tidak mendapat program DAKU!. Analisis data meliputi analisis univariat, bivariat (uji kai …

Nurses’ Intention And Behavior In Reporting Adverse Event: Application Of Theory Of Planned Behavior, Ni Putu Ekayani, Viera Wardhani, Asih Tri Rachmi

Kesmas

Data menunjukkan bahwa secara global jumlah pelaporan insiden keselamatan pasien masih rendah, begitu juga di Rumah Sakit Baptis Batu, Jawa Timur. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh antara sikap, norma subjektif, dan perceived behavioral control (PBC) terhadap niat dan untuk menentukan hubungan antara PBC dan niat terhadap perilaku perawat dalam melaporkan kejadian tidak diharapkan (KTD). Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan potong lintang dan dilakukan di Rumah Sakit Baptis Batu pada tanggal 16-31 Maret 2016. Pengambilan data dilakukan dengan menggunakan kuesioner yang dibagikan kepada 82 (dari 85) perawat yang bekerja di Rumah Sakit Baptis Batu. Data dianalisis menggunakan regresi linier berganda dan …

Genome Resources For Climate‐Resilient Cowpea, An Essential Crop For Food Security, Maria Munoz-Amatriain, Hamid Mirebrahim, Pei Xu, Steve Wanamaker, Ming-Cheng Luo, Hind Alhakami, Matthew Alpert, Ibrahim Atokple, Benoit J. Batieno, Ousmane Boukar, Serdar Bozdag, Ndiaga Cisse, Issa Drabo, Jeffrey D. Ehlers, Andrew Farmer, Christian Fatokun, Yong Q. Gu, Yi-Ning Guo, Bao-Lam Huynh, Scott A. Jackson, Francis Kusi, Cynthia T. Lawley, Mitchell R. Lucas, Yaqin Ma, Michael P. Timko, Jiajie Wu, Frank You, Noelle A. Barkley, Philip A. Roberts, Stefano Lonardi, Timothy J. Close

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) is a legume crop that is resilient to hot and drought‐prone climates, and a primary source of protein in sub‐Saharan Africa and other parts of the developing world. However, genome resources for cowpea have lagged behind most other major crops. Here we describe foundational genome resources and their application to the analysis of germplasm currently in use in West African breeding programs. Resources developed from the African cultivar IT97K‐499‐35 include a whole‐genome shotgun (WGS) assembly, a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) physical map, and assembled sequences from 4355 BACs. These resources and WGS sequences of …

Evaluation Of Progress Towards The Unaids 90-90-90 Hiv Care Cascade: A Description Of Statistical Methods Used In An Interim Analysis Of The Intervention Communities In The Search Study, Laura Balzer, Joshua Schwab, Mark J. Van Der Laan, Maya L. Petersen

U.C. Berkeley Division of Biostatistics Working Paper Series

WHO guidelines call for universal antiretroviral treatment, and UNAIDS has set a global target to virally suppress most HIV-positive individuals. Accurate estimates of population-level coverage at each step of the HIV care cascade (testing, treatment, and viral suppression) are needed to assess the effectiveness of "test and treat" strategies implemented to achieve this goal. The data available to inform such estimates, however, are susceptible to informative missingness: the number of HIV-positive individuals in a population is unknown; individuals tested for HIV may not be representative of those whom a testing intervention fails to reach, and HIV-positive individuals with a viral …

The Use Of Vital Statistics Data For Research Of Consequence: Birth Outcomes And Population Health In A Rural Region, Claudia Kozinetz, Shimin Zheng, Eunice Mogusu

ETSU Faculty Works

Objective: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has influenced increasing interests in population health and population health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to exemplify the importance of using existing vital statistics data for understanding and monitoring health outcomes and consequentially health disparities at the population level. Data from birth records for two geographic regions from 2009-2014 were compared; low birth weight (LBW) and preterm delivery (PD) were used as surrogates for population health outcomes.

Methods: A population-based, multi-year, cross-sectional study design using a pooled dataset of birth records from Tennessee (TN) was the framework for the analyses. …

Lake Michigan Wind Assessment Analysis, 2012 And 2013, Charles R. Standridge Ph.D., David Zeitler, Aaron Clark, Tyson Spoelma, Erik E. Nordman, T. Arnold Boezaart, Jim Edmonson, Graham Howe, Guy Meadows, Aline Cotel, Frank Marsik

Peer Reviewed Articles

A study was conducted to address the wind energy potential over Lake Michigan to support a commercial wind farm. Lake Michigan is an inland sea in the upper mid-western United States. A laser wind sensor mounted on a floating platform was located at the mid-lake plateau in 2012 and about 10.5 kilometers from the eastern shoreline near Muskegon Michigan in 2013. Range gate heights for the laser wind sensor were centered at 75, 90, 105, 125, 150, and 175 meters. Wind speed and direction were measured once each second and aggregated into 10 minute averages. The two sample t-test and …

Adaptive Non-Inferiority Margins Under Observable Non-Constancy, Brett S. Hanscom, Deborah J. Donnell, Brian D. Williamson, Jim Hughes

UW Biostatistics Working Paper Series

A central assumption in the design and conduct of non-inferiority trials is that the active-control therapy will have the same degree of effectiveness in the planned non-inferiority trial as it had in the prior placebo-controlled trials used to define the non-inferiority margin. This is referred to as the `constancy' assumption. If the constancy assumption fails, the chosen non-inferiority margin is not valid and the study runs the risk of approving an inferior product or failing to approve a beneficial product. The constancy assumption cannot be validated in a trial without a placebo arm, and it is unlikely ever to be …

Anonpri: A Secure Anonymous Private Authentication Protocol For Rfid Systems, Farzana Rahman, Md. Endadul Hoque, Sheikh Iqbal Ahamed

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications

Privacy preservation in RFID systems is a very important issue in modern day world. Privacy activists have been worried about the invasion of user privacy while using various RFID systems and services. Hence, significant efforts have been made to design RFID systems that preserve users' privacy. Majority of the privacy preserving protocols for RFID systems require the reader to search all tags in the system in order to identify a single RFID tag which not efficient for large scale systems. In order to achieve high-speed authentication in large-scale RFID systems, researchers propose tree-based approaches, in which any pair of tags …

Neighborhood Environment And Falls Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults, Emily Joy Nicklett, Matthew C. Lohman Ph.D., Matthew Lee Smith

Faculty Publications

Background: Falls present a major challenge to active aging, but the relationship between neighborhood factors and falls is poorly understood. This study examined the relationship between fall events and neighborhood factors, including neighborhood social cohesion (sense of belonging, trust, friendliness, and helpfulness) and physical environment (vandalism/graffiti, rubbish, vacant/deserted houses, and perceived safety walking home at night). Methods: Data were analyzed from 9259 participants over four biennial waves (2006–2012) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative sample of adults aged 65 and older in the United States. Results: In models adjusting for demographic and health-related covariates, a one-unit …

Disability In Long-Term Care Residents Explained By Prevalent Geriatric Syndromes, Not Long-Term Care Home Characteristics: A Cross-Sectional Study, Natasha E. Lane, Walter P. Wodchis, Cynthia M. Boyd, Thérèse A. Stukel

Dartmouth Scholarship

Self-care disability is dependence on others to conduct activities of daily living, such as bathing, eating and dressing. Among long-term care residents, self-care disability lowers quality of life and increases health care costs. Understanding the correlates of self-care disability in this population is critical to guide clinical care and ongoing research in Geriatrics. This study examines which resident geriatric syndromes and chronic conditions are associated with residents’ self-care disability and whether these relationships vary across strata of age, sex and cognitive status. It also describes the proportion of variance in residents’ self-care disability that is explained by residents’ geriatric syndromes …

It's All About Balance: Propensity Score Matching In The Context Of Complex Survey Data, David Lenis, Trang Q. ;Nguyen, Nian Dong, Elizabeth A. Stuart

Johns Hopkins University, Dept. of Biostatistics Working Papers

Many research studies aim to draw causal inferences using data from large, nationally representative survey samples, and many of these studies use propensity score matching to make those causal inferences as rigorous as possible given the non-experimental nature of the data. However, very few applied studies are careful about incorporating the survey design with the propensity score analysis, which may mean that the results don’t generate population inferences. This may be because few methodological studies examine how to best combine these methods. Furthermore, even fewer of the methodological studies incorporate different non-response mechanisms in their analysis. This study examines methods …

Health Care Resource Utilization And Costs Of California Medicaid Patients With Schizophrenia Treated With Paliperidone Palmitate Once Monthly Or Atypical Oral Antipsychotic Treatment, Jacqueline A. Pesa,, Dilesh Doshi, Li Wang, Huseyin Yuce, Onur Baser

Publications and Research

Objective: To compare all-cause health care utilization and costs between patients with schizophrenia treated with once monthly paliperidone palmitate (PP1M; Invega Sustenna1) and atypical oral antipsychotic therapy (OAT).

Methods: This was a retrospective claims-based analysis among adult California Medicaid (Medi-Cal) patients with schizophrenia having 2 claims for PP1M or OAT from 1 July 2009 to 31 December 2013 and continuous health plan enrollment for 1 year pre- and post-index date (PP1M or OAT initiation date). Baseline characteristics were reported descriptively. Propensity score matching with a 1:1 greedy match method was used to create two matched cohorts. Treatment patterns, all-cause health …

The Battle Against Malaria: A Teachable Moment, Randy K. Schwartz

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Malaria has been humanity’s worst public health problem throughout recorded history. Mathematical methods are needed to understand which factors are relevant to the disease and to develop counter-measures against it. This article and the accompanying exercises provide examples of those methods for use in lower- or upper-level courses dealing with probability, statistics, or population modeling. These can be used to illustrate such concepts as correlation, causation, conditional probability, and independence. The article explains how the apparent link between sickle cell trait and resistance to malaria was first verified in Uganda using the chi-squared probability distribution. It goes on to explain …

Moneyball For Creative Writers: A Statistical Strategy For Publishing Your Work, Jon Wesick

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Writers face a challenge getting their poems and stories published. Rather than following the traditional strategy I model creative writing submission as a statistical process and explore the use of numerical metrics to maximize publications.

Estimating The Probability Of Clonal Relatedness Of Pairs Of Tumors In Cancer Patients, Audrey Mauguen, Venkatraman E. Seshan, Irina Ostrovnaya, Colin B. Begg

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Dept. of Epidemiology & Biostatistics Working Paper Series

Next generation sequencing panels are being used increasingly in cancer research to study tumor evolution. A specific statistical challenge is to compare the mutational profiles in different tumors from a patient to determine the strength of evidence that the tumors are clonally related, i.e. derived from a single, founder clonal cell. The presence of identical mutations in each tumor provides evidence of clonal relatedness, although the strength of evidence from a match is related to how commonly the mutation is seen in the tumor type under investigation. This evidence must be weighed against the evidence in favor of independent tumors …