Work

Advanced AI-Powered System for Comprehensive Thyroid Cancer Detection and Malignancy Risk Assessment

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The thyroid cancer incidence has been continuously rising over the last decades. Recently, intelligent cancer detection software are gaining popularity, due to their high diagnostic accuracy and subsequent direct benefits in avoiding unnecessary surgical interventions. This study introduces a novel hybrid computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system that combines convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and molecular data analysis to achieve comprehensive and reliable thyroid cancer diagnostics. The system consists of two key modules: The first is a CNN-based model leveraging transfer learning, processes ultrasound images to classify patients as either “healthy” or “with a thyroid nodule.” In cases where a nodule is detected, the second module utilizes molecular data to predict the malignancy risk, providing a probability score for clinical decision support. Different image augmentation techniques (traditional ones as well as novels) were carried out to enhance the robustness of the system. The combination of two independent modules makes it possible to use them decoupled, while used together they provide a powerful, in-depth diagnosis of thyroid cancer. The proposed system demonstrates strong performance: the ultrasound-based CNN module achieves an accuracy of 93.65%, with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 69.23%. For the gene analysis component, the model achieves a training mean squared error (MSE) of 4.24 × 10−5 and a testing MSE 6.31 × 10−3. These results underscore the system’s competitive performance with existing thyroid cancer detection CAD systems in both diagnostic performance and the depth of insights provided, supporting clinicians in making informed, reliable decisions in thyroid cancer management.

Source: Life

DOI: 10.3390/life16010038

Authors: Noemi Lorenzovici, Horatiu Silaghi, Eva-H. Dulf, Cornelia Braicu, Cristina Alina Silaghi

Institutions: Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Obuda University

Language: English

Topic: AI in cancer detection

Subfield: Artificial Intelligence

Field: Computer Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,137