Chapter 3.3, Problem 38E

Use the cumulative relative frequencies given in the previous exercise to complete the following:

1. a. Calculate the relative frequencies for each class interval and construct a relative frequency distribution.
2. b. Summarize the survival time data using a histogram.
3. c. Based on the histogram, write a few sentences describing survival time of the stage 2 myeloma patients in this study.
4. d. What additional information would you need in order to decide if it is reasonable to generalize conclusions about survival time from the group of patients in the study to all patients younger than 50 years old who are diagnosed with multiple myeloma and who receive high dose chemotherapy?

3.37 The authors of the paper “Myeloma in Patients Younger than Age 50 Years Presents with More Favorable Features and Shows Better Survival” (Blood [2008]: 4039–4047) studied patients who had been diagnosed with stage 2 multiple myeloma prior to the age of 50. For each patient who received high dose chemotherapy, the number of years that the patient lived after the therapy (survival time) was recorded. The cumulative relative frequencies in the accompanying table were approximated from survival graphs that appeared in the paper.

1. a. Use the given information to construct a cumulative relative frequency plot.
2. b. Use the cumulative relative frequency plot from Part (a) to answer the following questions:
   1. i. What is the approximate proportion of patients who lived fewer than 5 years after treatment?