Sparse Estimation in Finite Mixture of Accelerated Failure Time and Mixture of Regression Models with R Package fmrs

Abstract

Variable selection in large-dimensional data has been extensively studied in different settings over the past decades. In a recent article, Shokoohi et. al. [29, DOI:10.1214/18-AOAS1198] proposed a method for variable selection in finite mixture of accelerated failure time regression models for studies on time-to-event data to capture heterogeneity within the population and account for censoring. In this paper, we introduce the fmrs package, which implements the variable selection methodology for such models. Furthermore, as a byproduct, the fmrs package facilitates variable selection in finite mixture regression models. The package also incorporates a tuning parameter selection mechanism based on component-wise bic. Commonly used penalties, such as Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator, and Smoothly Clipped Absolute Deviation, are integrated into fmrs. Additionally, the package offers an option for non-mixture regression models. The C language is chosen to boost the optimization speed. We provide an overview of the fmrs principles and the strategies employed for optimization. Hands-on illustrations are presented to help users get acquainted with fmrs. Finally, we apply fmrs to a lung cancer dataset and observe that a two-component mixture model reveals a subgroup with a more aggressive form of the disease, displaying a lower survival time.