38.2 Build Partitioned Survival Analysis (PartSA) Model Structure

A PartSA model consists of a PartSA node followed by a set of terminal nodes representing Survival Curves. Survival Curves must be sorted top down from healthier to sicker states. Each Survival Curve will have an associated Health State, plus there is an implicit Dead state to account for leaving the bottom Survival Curve.

To create the PartSA structure:

• Choose File > New Decision Tree from the menu.

• Decline the Model Setup Wizard, and return to this later when we are adding rewards (costs and utilities).

• Right-click on the root (decision) node and choose Change Type > PartSA from the context menu.

• Enter the node label “PartSA”.

• Double click with the mouse on the PartSA node to add two branches. Each branch will automatically be a Terminal node representing a Survival Curve. If your model requires more branches, double-click to add more branches.

• Enter node labels for each branch:

  • Top: “Progression-Free Survival";

  • Bottom: “Overall survival”.

You have now created the model structure for the Example model in the previous section.