Several statistical methods are commonly employed in cancer research:
- Descriptive Statistics: Summarize basic features of the data, including measures of central tendency (mean, median) and dispersion (range, standard deviation). - Inferential Statistics: Make predictions or inferences about a population based on sample data. This includes hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, and p-values. - Survival Analysis: Evaluate the time until the occurrence of an event, such as death or disease progression. Techniques like the Kaplan-Meier estimator and Cox proportional-hazards model are widely used. - Regression Analysis: Assess relationships between variables. Logistic regression is commonly used for binary outcomes, while linear regression is used for continuous outcomes. - Meta-Analysis: Combine results from multiple studies to derive a more precise estimate of effect sizes or to resolve uncertainty when studies disagree.
