Abstract
Electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) has been used as an adjunct to colposcopy for cervical cancer diagnosis for many years, Currently, the template match method is employed for EIS measurements analysis, where the measured EIS spectra are compared with the templates generated from three-dimensional finite element (FE) models of cancerous and non-cancerous cervical tissue, and the matches between the measured EIS spectra and the templates are then used to derive a score that indicates the association strength of the measured EIS to the High-Grade Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (HG CIN). These FE models can be viewed as the computational versions of the associated physical tissue models. In this paper, the problem is revisited with an objective to develop a new method for EIS data analysis that might reveal the relationship between the change in the tissue structure due to disease and the change in the measured spectrum. This could provide us with important information to understand the histopathological mechanism that underpins the EIS-based HG CIN diagnostic decision making and the prognostic value of EIS for cervical cancer diagnosis. A further objective is to develop an alternative EIS data processing method for HG CIN detection that does not rely on physical models of tissues so as to facilitate extending the EIS technique to new medical diagnostic applications where the template spectra are not available.An EIS data-driven method was developed in this paper to achieve the above objectives, where the EIS data analysis for cervical cancer diagnosis and prognosis were formulated as the classification problems and a Cole model-based spectrum curve fitting approach was proposed to extract features from EIS readings for classification. Machine learning techniques were then used to build classification models with the selected features for cervical cancer diagnosis and evaluation of the prognostic value of the measured EIS. The interpretable classification models were developed with real EIS data sets, which enable us to associate the changes in the observed EIS and the risk of being HG CIN or developing HG CIN with the changes in tissue structure due to disease. The developed classification models were used for HG CIN detection and evaluation of the prognostic value of EIS and the results demonstrated the effectiveness of the developed method. The method developed is of long-term benefit for EIS–based cervical cancer diagnosis and, in conjunction with standard colposcopy, there is the potential for the developed method to provide a more effective and efficient patient management strategy for clinic practice.
Highlights
Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer for women in the world [1]
The developed classification models were used for High-Grade Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (HG CIN) detection and evaluation of the prognostic value of Electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and the results demonstrated the effectiveness of the developed method
Screening for cervical cancer is usually performed using a multi-tiered paradigm which begins with the Papanicolaou (Pap) smear with human papillomavirus (HPV) co-testing, followed by colposcopy guided biopsy and prevention of cervical cancer depends on colposcopic detection and treatment of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (HG-CIN) in women referred with abnormal cytology
Summary
Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer for women in the world [1]. Screening for cervical cancer is usually performed using a multi-tiered paradigm which begins with the Papanicolaou (Pap) smear with human papillomavirus (HPV) co-testing, followed by colposcopy guided biopsy and prevention of cervical cancer depends on colposcopic detection and treatment of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (HG-CIN) in women referred with abnormal cytology. Cervical epithelium is a highly structured and stratified tissue that exhibits changes as it progresses from normal epithelium to HG-CIN These changes are associated with losses in the layer of flattened epithelial cells close to the surface of the cervix, and increases in both the nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio and the extracellular space.
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