Edward L. Kaplan and the Kaplan-Meier Survival Curve

Abstract

In June 1958, Edward L Kaplan (1920–2006) and Paul Meier (1924–2011) published an innovative statistical method to estimate survival curves when including incomplete observations. The Kaplan–Meier (KM) method became the standard way of reporting patient survival in medical research. For example, the KM method is used in more than 70% of clinical oncology papers. With 44,319 Web of Science® citations as of November 2017, the report has become the most-cited statistics publication in the scientific literature. Part I of this report describes the KM method, its strengths and limitations, and the history and evolution of the method. In Part II we recount the biography of the remarkable mathematician Edward L Kaplan, PhD, and his unique contributions during the formulation of the KM method, as well as his contributions to science during his unique and productive career.