Sequential multiple assignment randomization trials with enrichment design.

ABSTRACT: Sequential multiple assignment randomization trial (SMART) is a powerful design to study Dynamic Treatment Regimes (DTRs) and allows causal comparisons of DTRs. To handle practical challenges of SMART, we propose a SMART with Enrichment (SMARTER) design, which performs stage-wise enrichment for SMART. SMARTER can improve design efficiency, shorten the recruitment period, and partially reduce trial duration to make SMART more practical with limited time and resource. Specifically, at each subsequent stage of a SMART, we enrich the study sample with new patients who have received previous stages' treatments in a naturalistic fashion without randomization, and only randomize them among the current stage treatment options. One extreme case of the SMARTER is to synthesize separate independent s

SUBMITTER: Liu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5339073 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature