Deep Learning- and Expert Knowledge-Based Feature Extraction and Performance Evaluation in Breast Histopathology Images

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death among women. Developing machine learning-based diagnosis models receives great attention from researchers and scientists using histopathology images. Deep learning (DL) algorithms automatically extract features from raw data through convolutional operations. The generalization of the DL models’ results relies on large datasets, although they eliminate the expert knowledge in the feature extraction stage. This work aimed to compare the performance of the features extracted via deep learning and a knowledge-based approach in breast cancer detection from histopathology images. ABSTRACT: Cancer develops when a single or a group of cells grows and spreads uncontrollably. Histopathology images are used in cancer diagnosis since they show tissue and cell structures under a microscope. Knowledge-based and deep learning-based computer-aided detection is an ongoing research field in cancer diagnosis using histopathology images. Feature extraction is vital in both approaches since the feature set is fed to a classifier and determines the performance. This paper evaluates three feature extraction methods and their performance in breast cancer diagnosis. Features are extracted by (1) a Convolutional Neural Network, (2) a transfer learning architecture VGG16, and (3) a knowledge-based system. The feature sets are tested by seven classifiers, including Neural Network (64 units), Random Forest, Multilayer Perceptron, Decision Tree, Support Vector Machines, K-Nearest Neighbors, and Narrow Neural Network (10 units) on the BreakHis 400× image dataset. The CNN achieved up to 85% for the Neural Network and Random Forest, the VGG16 method achieved up to 86% for the Neural Network, and the knowledge-based features achieved up to 98% for Neural Network, Random Forest, Multilayer Perceptron classifiers.