Semiparametric regression analysis of mean residual life with censored survival data

As function of time t, a mean residual life is the remaining life expectancy of a subject given survival up to t. The proportional mean residual life model, proposed by Oakes & Dasu (1990), provides an alternative to the Cox proportional hazards model for studying the association between survival times and covariates. In the presence of censoring, we use counting process theory to develop semiparametric inference procedures for the regression coefficients of the Oakes--Dasu model. Simulation studies and an application to the well-known Veterans' Administration lung cancer survival data are presented. Copyright 2005, Oxford University Press.