A hybrid deep learning skin cancer prediction framework

Abstract

Skin cancer, a critical health concern, necessitates accurate early detection and classification to mitigate its impact. However, the limited availability of medical datasets and the challenge of optimizing learnable parameters in deep learning strategies for medical images pose significant hurdles. To address these challenges, we propose an innovative solution—a hybrid artificial intelligence (AI) framework for skin cancer prediction. This framework consists of two pivotal steps: firstly, a comprehensive skin cancer dataset is curated by combining diverse public datasets encompassing multiple disease types. This facilitates robust weight tuning of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) by enhancing the diversity of the learning process. Subsequently, the optimization of deep learning is meticulously executed through the artificial Bee Colony (ABC) strategy, effectively mitigating the potential adverse effects of initial parameter randomness on AI model performance. Rigorous evaluation of the hybrid framework against eight prominent CNN models, including DenseNet121, InceptionResNetV2, and others, underscores its superior predictive capabilities. The optimized hybrid framework achieves exceptional results, boasting an accuracy of 93.04%, recall of 92.0%, precision of 93.0%, and an impressive F1-score of 93.12%. In summary, our proposed hybrid solution demonstrates a substantial advancement in multi-disease skin cancer classification. It outperforms existing AI models and holds promise as a pragmatic smart solution with far-reaching implications.