Interpretable Deep Transfer Learning for Breast Ultrasound Cancer Detection: A Multi-Dataset Study

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Abbadi, Mohammad, Himeur, Yassine, Atalla, Shadi, Mansoor, Wathiq
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Abbadi, Mohammad
Himeur, Yassine
Atalla, Shadi
Mansoor, Wathiq
author_facet Abbadi, Mohammad
Himeur, Yassine
Atalla, Shadi
Mansoor, Wathiq
contents Breast cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women worldwide. Ultrasound imaging, widely used due to its safety and cost-effectiveness, plays a key role in early detection, especially in patients with dense breast tissue. This paper presents a comprehensive study on the application of machine learning and deep learning techniques for breast cancer classification using ultrasound images. Using datasets such as BUSI, BUS-BRA, and BrEaST-Lesions USG, we evaluate classical machine learning models (SVM, KNN) and deep convolutional neural networks (ResNet-18, EfficientNet-B0, GoogLeNet). Experimental results show that ResNet-18 achieves the highest accuracy (99.7%) and perfect sensitivity for malignant lesions. Classical ML models, though outperformed by CNNs, achieve competitive performance when enhanced with deep feature extraction. Grad-CAM visualizations further improve model transparency by highlighting diagnostically relevant image regions. These findings support the integration of AI-based diagnostic tools into clinical workflows and demonstrate the feasibility of deploying high-performing, interpretable systems for ultrasound-based breast cancer detection.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_05004
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Interpretable Deep Transfer Learning for Breast Ultrasound Cancer Detection: A Multi-Dataset Study
Abbadi, Mohammad
Himeur, Yassine
Atalla, Shadi
Mansoor, Wathiq
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Breast cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women worldwide. Ultrasound imaging, widely used due to its safety and cost-effectiveness, plays a key role in early detection, especially in patients with dense breast tissue. This paper presents a comprehensive study on the application of machine learning and deep learning techniques for breast cancer classification using ultrasound images. Using datasets such as BUSI, BUS-BRA, and BrEaST-Lesions USG, we evaluate classical machine learning models (SVM, KNN) and deep convolutional neural networks (ResNet-18, EfficientNet-B0, GoogLeNet). Experimental results show that ResNet-18 achieves the highest accuracy (99.7%) and perfect sensitivity for malignant lesions. Classical ML models, though outperformed by CNNs, achieve competitive performance when enhanced with deep feature extraction. Grad-CAM visualizations further improve model transparency by highlighting diagnostically relevant image regions. These findings support the integration of AI-based diagnostic tools into clinical workflows and demonstrate the feasibility of deploying high-performing, interpretable systems for ultrasound-based breast cancer detection.
title Interpretable Deep Transfer Learning for Breast Ultrasound Cancer Detection: A Multi-Dataset Study
topic Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.05004