Hi Folks: I found the following paper to be an interesting example of how even well designed and conducted studies -- randomized trials, even -- can be rendered problematic by systematic effects beyond the control of the investigators:
http://www.nature.com/nrurol/journal/v7/n9/full/nrurol.2010.120.html It's about whether PSA testing helps reduce mortality due to prostate cancer -- an important issue with significant healh, economic, and QOL impact. After decades of careful work, the answer still seems to be: we don't know. Perhaps a good lesson in humility for us statisticians ... For those who are interested, enjoy. Cheers, Bert Bert Gunter Genentech Nonclinical Statistics ______________________________________________ R-help@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
