# Statistical Methods for Prospective Evaluation of Biomarkers

> **NIH NIH R01** · FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER · 2020 · $370,827

## Abstract

Summary/Abstract
The overarching theme of this project is to develop novel statistical approaches for designing and analyzing
biomarker discovery and validation studies. We consider here prospective studies in clinical settings where
risk markers are used for disease surveillance and prognosis. Motivated by our collaborative research in
the cancer biomarker field, we plan to address several new challenges in prospective marker evaluation.
For many cancers, disease outcomes may be heterogeneous due to the multi-focal nature of the disease.
The specific prediction of the risk of developing aggressive cancer as opposed to indolent cancer is of
great clinical interest, yet it is analytically challenging. In Aim 1 we plan to develop statistical tools for risk
stratification and individualized treatment rules in a population with a mixture of indolent and aggressive
cancers. Aim 2 will address complications in disease outcome ascertainment. Efficient and unbiased
estimation procedures will be developed to quantify the prognostic and predictive accuracy of biomarkers.
These methods will be developed in the presence of interval censored data and surveillance-triggered
outcome ascertainment and imperfect or surrogate outcome measurements. Finally, we will derive novel
criteria for model selection with longitudinal data and develop novel approaches for deriving and validating
dynamic surveillance regimens for disease monitoring. The proposed methods will be tested in a wide
range of practice settings in cancer biomarker studies, including stratifying breast cancer survivors in risk
of second primary breast cancer; developing and evaluating optimal biopsy interval regimen in the active
surveillance of prostate cancer; accommodating surveillance-triggered outcome ascertainment schemes;
and making treatment decisions among patients who are at high risk for liver cancer, or colorectal cancer
recurrence.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9979822
- **Project number:** 5R01CA236558-10
- **Recipient organization:** FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Yingye Zheng
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $370,827
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2009-09-04 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9979822

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9979822, Statistical Methods for Prospective Evaluation of Biomarkers (5R01CA236558-10). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9979822. Licensed CC0.

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