L-moment estimation for parametric survival models given censored data

An estimator for the rrth L-moment, λrλr, given right censored data is proposed, which takes the form of λˆr=∑j=1nT(j)uj(r), where the T(j)T(j)’s are the ordered censored or failure times. We present the L-moments for several common survival distributions. Under certain regularity conditions, it is shown that λˆr converges in probability to λrλr, and has an asymptotic normal distribution. We further develop exact bootstrap estimators of mean and variance of λˆr. The procedure is illustrated by an application to head-and-neck cancer survival data. Monte Carlo simulation studies show that our L-moment estimator may be used to characterize distributions and provide an alternative approach to parameter estimation.