Transfer learning for accelerated failure time model with microarray data

In simulation studies, the transfer learning method for the AFT model can correctly identify a small number of genes, its estimation error is smaller than the estimation error obtained without using the source cohorts. Furthermore, the proposed method demonstrates satisfactory accuracy and robustness in addressing heterogeneity across the cohorts compared to the method that directly combines the target and the source cohorts in the AFT model. We analyze the GSE88770 and GSE25055 data using the proposed method. The selected genes are relatively stable, and the proposed method can make an overall satisfactory risk prediction.