Removing text boxes from Kaplan-Meier plots

[David Metcalfe]

I am trying to create Kaplan-Meier plots using this code:

stset timetoevent if outcome != 3, failure(outcome) scale(1)
sts test volcatc_p, logrank
sts graph, by(volcatc_p) sep ci plotopts(lpattern(solid) lwidth(vthin) lcolor(black)) ciopts(lw(vthin) fc(gs12)) ///
legend(pos(5) ring(0) col(1) size(small) region(c(white)) lab(1 "95% confidence intervals") lab(2 "Survivorship")) ///
ytitle ("Survivorship", size(small)) ylabel (0.5(.1)1, labsize(vsmall)) yscale(alt) ///
xtitle("Follow-up period (years)", size(small)) xlabel(0(2)15, labsize(vsmall)) ///
byopts(title("") sub("") note("") graphregion(color(gs15)) bgcolor(white))

I have managed to specify everything I need so far except for the two text boxes that appear above each plot (coloured blue and including the text "1." and "2."). I have been through the help files but cannot work out what I need to do to delete, edit, and/or add text to either of these boxes. I realise that I could do this manually in the Graph Editor but would like to understand how it could be done by commands alone.

Any help would be very welcome!

mov

[Friedrich Huebler]

In a graph with by() the titles above each graph are controlled with subtitle(). To suppress these titles, add this option to the command:

subtitle("")

Example:

sysuse auto
scatter mpg weight, by(foreign)
scatter mpg weight, by(foreign) subtitle("")

[David Metcalfe]

Thanks, although subtitle("") doesn't seem to do the trick in this case.

I have added byopts(title("Title") sub("Subtitle") note("Note") graphregion(color(gs15)) bgcolor(white)) to my code to show where the "title", "subtitle", and "note" appear. They all appear to be separate entities to the boxes that are wrecking my graph. When I open them manually in the Graph Editor they are described (and have the same properties) as text boxes.

[Roman Mostazir]

Thanks, although subtitle("") doesn't seem to do the trick in this case.

It Does. I ran the your commands #1 in a sample data and produced the graph without labels at subtitle:

sts test volcatc_p, logrank
sts graph, by(volcatc_p) subti("") sep ci plotopts(lpattern(solid) lwidth(vthin) lcolor(black)) ciopts(lw(vthin) fc(gs12)) ///
legend(pos(5) ring(0) col(1) size(small) region(c(white)) lab(1 "95% confidence intervals") lab(2 "Survivorship")) ///
ytitle ("Survivorship", size(small)) ylabel (0.5(.1)1, labsize(vsmall)) yscale(alt) ///
xtitle("Follow-up period (years)", size(small)) xlabel(0(2)15, labsize(vsmall)) ///
byopts(title("") sub("") note("") graphregion(color(gs15)) bgcolor(white))

[David Metcalfe]

Thank you, both. I had assumed that including sub("") in byopts() was the correct thing to do rather than immediately after by(). I can see from Roman's code that this wasn't correct and should now be sorted. Thanks again.

David