A Bayesian Approach for the Analysis of Tumorigenicity Data from Sacrificial Experiments Under Weibull Lifetimes

This chapter details a Bayesian approach for inference on onset time of tumors based on tumorigenicity data from sacrificial experiments under Weibull lifetimes. We assume that both shape and scale parameters are related to various covariates in log-linear forms. Metropolis–Hastings sampling method is then used for the estimation of posterior means of quantities of interest. A simulation study and a sensitivity analysis are carried out to assess the performance of the developed Bayesian approach with different priors. A comparison is also made with the likelihood estimates determined from an EM algorithm. Finally, a known mice tumor toxicology dataset is analyzed to illustrate the developed Bayesian approach.