 Cure model

A cure model mixes an individual class with identically zero hazard function and a susceptible class with survivor function $S_{\ast }$. For $0\le \pi <1$, its representation as a proportional frailty model with $\mathbb{E}U=1$ is $U=0$ with probability $\pi$ and $U=1/(1-\pi )$ otherwise, with baseline hazard $h_0=(1-\pi )h_{\ast }$. The frailty law is a mixture of two Dirac measures, rather than an ordinary density. Its Laplace transform evaluated at $H_0$ gives the displayed survivor function. The limiting survival equals $\pi$ when $S_{\ast }(t)\to 0$; otherwise the plateau also includes susceptible individuals who never experience the event.