IPDfromKM

IPDfromKM reconstructs individual patient data (IPD) from published Kaplan-Meier (K-M) survival curves to enable secondary survival analyses.

Key Features:

• Two-Stage Reconstruction Approach: Stage 1 extracts raw data coordinates from published K-M curves, and Stage 2 reconstructs IPD from these extracted coordinates.
• Software Implementation: Implemented as an R package named IPDfromKM for extraction of curve coordinates and IPD reconstruction.
• Visualization and Accuracy Assessment: Provides visualization of reconstructed IPD relative to original K-M curves and mechanisms to assess reconstruction accuracy.
• Secondary Analysis Capability: Enables secondary analyses on reconstructed IPD.

Scientific Applications:

• Enhanced Data Utilization: Reconstructing IPD from K-M curves provides access to patient-level data that are not available in published aggregate results.
• Improved Research Outcomes: Facilitates estimation of number of events, patients at risk, survival probabilities, median survival times, and hazard ratios for secondary analyses.
• Flexibility Across Study Designs: Applicable to Kaplan-Meier curves with diverse shapes across different study contexts.

Methodology:

Data extraction by digitizing Kaplan-Meier survival curves to obtain coordinate data points using the IPDfromKM R package, followed by IPD reconstruction from these data points using the package's reconstruction method.