Abstract
In survival analysis, it is one of important subjects to explore influencing factors on prognosis of relevant diseases. The useful tool for exploration of the factors is tree structured method. In this paper, we proposed a multi-split tree structured method. Then, we can present the complicated interactions of those influencing factors on prognosis using graphical display. Then, we evaluated performance of the multi-split tree structured method by using certain literature examples and conducting simulation. As a result, the multi-split tree had the small number of terminal nodes rather than ordinary binary-split tree. When true tree structure had many (rather than two) branches, total mean squared error of estimated hazard of the multi-split tree structured method was less than one of the binary-split tree structured method. That is, the performance of the former was superior to one of the latter. Moreover, we can use the multi-split tree structured method in order to diagnose the result of the binary-split tree structured method.
