Artificial intelligence algorithm for the histopathological diagnosis of skin cancer

Abstract

Introduction: Cutaneous neoplasms are the most common cancers in the world, and have high morbidity rates. A definitive diagnosis can only be obtained after histopathological evaluation of the lesions. Objective: To develop an artificial intelligence program to establish the histopathological diagnosis of cutaneous lesions. Methodology: A deep learning program was built using three neural network architectures: MobileNet, Inception and convolutional networks. A database was constructed using 2732 images of melanomas, basal and squamous cell carcinomas, and normal skin. The validation set consisted of 284 images from all 4 categories, allowing for the calculation of sensitivity and specificity. All images were provided by the Path Presenter website. Results: The sensitivity and specificity of the MobileNet model were 92% (95%CI, 83-100%) and 97% (95%CI, 90-100%), respectively; corresponding figures for the Inception model were 98.3% (95%CI, 86-100%) and 98.8% (95%CI, 98.2-100%); lastly, the sensitivity and specificity of the convolutional network model were 91.6% (95%CI, 73.8-100%) and 95.7% (95%CI, 94.4-97.2%). The maximum sensitivity for the differentiation of malignant conditions was 91%, and specificity was 95.4%. Conclusion: The program developed in the present study can efficiently distinguish between the main types of skin cancer with high sensitivity and specificity.