Prediction Based on Random Survival Forest | Biomedgrid llc

Random survival forest (RSF) is an ensemble of survival trees where each tree within the forest is grown non-deterministically. RSF is an attractive nonparametric alternative in modeling time-to-event data when the number of covariates is larger than the number of subjects and the relationship between the response and covariates is complex. In this note, we discuss three main aspects in tree construction procedure in a nontechnical manner. Specifically, we review the node splitting rule, ways to construct right-sized trees to avoid overfitting and estimation in terminal nodes once the tree has grown to full size.