185
(Semi)parametric Example
Survival cure model (Ibrahim, 1999, 2000)
–Probability model
•Proportion πi is cured (survival probability 1 at ∞) in the i-th treatment group
•Noncured group has survival distribution modeled parametrically (e.g., Weibull) or semiparametrically (e.g., proportional hazards)
•Treatment effect is measured by θ = π1 – π0 
–The problem as I see it: Incorrect assumptions about the nuisance parameter can bias the estimation of the treatment effect