The ICLIFETEST Procedure

The ICLIFETEST procedure performs nonparametric survival analysis for interval-censored data. You can use the ICLIFETEST procedure to compute nonparametric estimates of the survival functions and to examine the equality of the survival functions through statistical tests.

The ICLIFETEST procedure compares most closely to the LIFETEST procedure. The two procedures share the same analytic objectives: estimating and summarizing subjects’ survival experiences and comparing them systematically. The distinction between these procedures lies in the types of data that they are designed to handle. The ICLIFETEST procedure is intended primarily for handling interval-censored data, whereas the LIFETEST procedure deals exclusively with right-censored data. You can use the ICLIFETEST procedure to analyze data that are left-censored, interval-censored, or right-censored. However, if the data to be analyzed contain only exact or right-censored observations, it is recommended that you use the LIFETEST procedure because it provides specialized methods for dealing with right-censored data.