Definition and importance of estimates

An estimate is the value that we are trying to determine for a specific treatment in a target population. It captures the benefit or risk of the treatment and compares the summary effect of the treatment to a comparator. The estimate can be measured through different approaches, such as the treatment policy estimate (intention to treat estimate) that includes all individuals assigned to any treatment, regardless of compliance, and the trial product estimate (per-protocol estimate) that focuses on the outcome of individuals who actually comply with the assigned treatment. The use of these estimates depends on the specific context and the goals of the study.