Fig. 1

Hazard Rates. (Left) Baseline, age-specific hazard rates of lymphoid cancer estimated by SEER [13, 14]. SEER provides age-specific incidence and morality data, in yearly increments, up to age 84 years, and then aggregates data for ages of 85 years or greater. We considered the SEER reported incidence rate for individuals of age 85 or greater to be the constant hazard rate of disease for individuals between the ages of 85 to 100. (Right) Age-specific hazard rates of death for the general population [15] and for the disease-affected population [13, 16, 17]. To promote continuity in the age-specific hazard rate of death for the affected population, we assume that it is twice that of the unaffected population after age 84 years. After age 84 years, the SEER data do not allow for the age-specific hazard rates of death in the affected population to be estimated in yearly increments