Dr. Rini on the Axitinib and Sorafenib Trial Hazard Ratio

Lead investigator Brian I. Rini, MD, a staff member in the Department of Solid Tumor Oncology at the Taussig Cancer Institute at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio discusses the axitinib and sorafenib AXIS 1032 phase III trial hazard ratio and explains why using the hazard ratio for the comparison of drugs is preferred to the median.

Dr. Rini says the median looks at one point in time on the curve while the hazard ratio looks at every point in time on the curve and how they relate to each other. With a hazard ratio of .6, it means that at any point in time the patient was about 30% to 40% less likely to progress if they were getting axitinib than if they were getting sorafenib. Dr. Rini says in those terms it is a different way of quantifying it as opposed to a median. He says the median is quoted more often because it's easier, but a hazard ratio is a much better interpretation of a relative drug effect.