Accelerated failure time models for counting processes

TLDR: In this article, a natural extension of the conventional accelerated failure time model for survival data is presented to formulate the effects of covariates on the mean function of the counting process for recurrent events.

Abstract: SUMMARY We present a natural extension of the conventional accelerated failure time model for survival data to formulate the effects of covariates on the mean function of the counting process for recurrent events. A class of consistent and asymptotically normal rank estimators is developed for estimating the regression parameters of the proposed model. In addition, a Nelson-Aalen-type estimator for the mean function of the counting process is constructed, which is consistent and, properly normalised, converges weakly to a zeromean Gaussian process. We assess the finite-sample properties of the proposed estimators and the associated inference procedures through Monte Carlo simulation and provide an application to a well-known bladder cancer study.