Where Have All the Rodents Gone? The Effects of Attrition in Experimental Research on Cancer and Stroke.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Holman C
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4699644 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Where Have All the Rodents Gone? The Effects of Attrition in Experimental Research on Cancer and Stroke.
Holman Constance C Piper Sophie K SK Grittner Ulrike U Diamantaras Andreas Antonios AA Kimmelman Jonathan J Siegerink Bob B Dirnagl Ulrich U
PLoS biology 20160104 1
Given small sample sizes, loss of animals in preclinical experiments can dramatically alter results. However, effects of attrition on distortion of results are unknown. We used a simulation study to analyze the effects of random and biased attrition. As expected, random loss of samples decreased statistical power, but biased removal, including that of outliers, dramatically increased probability of false positive results. Next, we performed a meta-analysis of animal reporting and attrition in st ...[more]
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