Article
Detecting and Classifying Tumors with Artificial Intelligence
Received: 9 September 2025; Revised: 5 November 2025; Accepted: 12 November 2025; Published: 19 November 2025
Abstract
Tumor detection and classification play a crucial role in the early diagnosis and treatment planning of cancer, significantly improving patient outcomes. The rapid growth of medical imaging data has necessitated the development of intelligent and automated solutions for accurate interpretation. In this study, a novel artificial intelligence‑based method is proposed for detecting and classifying tumors using advanced machine learning ar‑ chitectures. The approach integrates convolutional and fully connected neural layers, structured to analyze key diagnostic features from imaging and clinical datasets. The model is fine‑tuned through evolutionary optimization to enhance its learning parameters and minimize classification errors. The system operates in two primary phases: data‑driven feature refinement and multi‑class tumor classification. Evaluations were carried out across multiple benchmark datasets, including Computer Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans, with the proposed method demonstrating a high classification accuracy and robustness in distinguishing between benign and malignant tumor types. Comparative analyses show that the proposed model achieves superior performance over conventional classifiers and hybrid systems. This framework not only supports accurate and early tumor di‑ agnosis but also holds potential for adaptation across various tumor categories beyond those initially tested. The study underscores the capacity of artificial intelligence to support clinical decision‑making in oncology through reliable, efficient, and scalable diagnostic tools.
Keywords
References
- 1. Sung, H.; Ferlay, J.; Siegel, R.L.; et al. Global cancer statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J. Clin. 2021, 71, 209–249. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21660
- 2. Ranjbarzadeh, R.; Caputo, A.; Babaee Tirkolaee, E.; et al. Brain tumor segmentation of MRI images: A comprehensive review on the application of artificial intelligence tools. Comput. Biol. Med. 2023, 152, 106405. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compbiomed.2022.106405
- 3. Esteva, A.; Robicquet, A.; Ramsundar, B.; et al. A guide to deep learning in healthcare. Nat. Med. 2019, 25, 24–29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-018-0316-z
- 4. Kermany, D.S.; Goldbaum, M.; Cai, W.; et al. Identifying medical diagnoses and treatable diseases by image-based deep learning. Cell 2018, 172, 1122–1131.e9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2018.02.010
- 5. Shen, D.; Wu, G.; Suk, H.I. Deep learning in medical image analysis. Annu. Rev. Biomed. Eng. 2019, 19, 221–248. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-bioeng-071516-044442
- 6. Jothi, N.; Abdul Rashid, N.A.; Husain, W. Data mining in healthcare—A review. Procedia Comput. Sci. 2015, 72, 306–313. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2015.12.145
- 7. Hussain, M.; Bird, J.J.; Faria, D.R. A study on CNN transfer learning for image classification. In Proceedings of the UK Workshop on Computational Intelligence, Nottingham, UK, 5–7 September 2018; pp. 191–202. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30493-5_15
- 8. Litjens, G.; Kooi, T.; Bejnordi, B.E.; et al. A survey on deep learning in medical image analysis. Med. Image Anal. 2017, 42, 60–88. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.media.2017.07.005
- 9. Rajpurkar, P.; Irvin, J.; Zhu, K.; et al. CheXNet: Radiologist-level pneumonia detection on chest X-rays with deep learning. arXiv preprint 2018, arXiv:1711.05225.
- 10. Zhang, C.; Liu, H.; Wang, H.; et al. A survey of deep model compression and acceleration. In Proceedings of the Green, Pervasive, and Cloud Computing: 19th International Conference, Macao, China, 27–30 September 2024; pp. 86–106. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-95-1346-8_6
- 11. Holland, J.H. Adaptation in Natural and Artificial Systems: An Introductory Analysis with Applications to Biology, Control, and Artificial Intelligence; MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, USA, 1992.
- 12. Sun, W.; Zheng, B.; Qian, W. Automatic feature learning using multichannel ROI based on deep structured algorithms for computerized lung cancer diagnosis. Comput. Biol. Med. 2017, 89, 530–539. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compbiomed.2017.04.006
- 13. Kennedy, J.; Eberhart, R. Particle swarm optimization. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Neural Networks, Perth, Australia, 27 November–1 December 1995; pp. 1942–1948. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ICNN.1995.488968
- 14. Simran; Singh, J. A comprehensive survey of PSO-ACO optimization and swarm intelligence in healthcare: Implications for medical image analysis and disease surveillance. In Proceedings of the 2023 3rd Asian Conference on Innovation in Technology (ASIANCON), Ravet, India, 25–27 August 2023; pp. 204–209. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ASIANCON58793.2023.10270025
- 15. Storn, R.; Price, K. Differential evolution—A simple and efficient heuristic for global optimization over continuous spaces. J. Glob. Optim. 1997, 11, 341–359. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008202821328
- 16. Dietterich, T.G. Ensemble methods in machine learning. In Multiple Classifier Systems; Springer: Berlin, Germany, 2000; pp. 1–15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45014-9_1
- 17. Opitz, D.; Maclin, R. Popular ensemble methods: An empirical study. J. Artif. Intell. Res. 1999, 11, 169–198. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1613/jair.614
- 18. Sagi, O.; Rokach, L. Ensemble learning: A survey. Wiley Interdiscip. Rev. Data Min. Knowl. Discov. 2018, 8, e1249. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/widm.1249
- 19. Chandrashekar, G.; Sahin, F. A survey on feature selection methods. Comput. Electr. Eng. 2014, 40, 16–28. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compeleceng.2013.11.024
- 20. Shen, W.; Zhou, M.; Yang, F.; et al. Multi-scale convolutional neural networks for lung nodule classification. In Information Processing in Medical Imaging; Springer: Cham, Switzerland, 2017; pp. 588–599. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19992-4_46
- 21. Ghasemi, R.; Islam, N.; Bayat, S.; et al. Detection and classification of brain tumor using a hybrid learning model in CT scan images. Sci Rep. 2025, 15, 35085. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-18979-8
- 22. Subedi, A.; Regmi, S.; Regmi, N.; et al. Classification of endoscopy and video capsule images using CNN-transformer model. In Proceedings of the Cancer Prevention, Detection, and Intervention: Third MICCAI Workshop, CaPTion 2024, held in conjunction with MICCAI 2024, Marrakesh, Morocco, 6 October 2024; pp. 26–36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-73376-5_3
- 23. Chiu, T.M.; Chi, I.C.; Li, Y.C.; et al. Deep ensemble learning for multiclass skin lesion classification. Bioengineering (Basel) 2025, 12, 934. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12090934
- 24. Gomathi, P. Pancreatic cancer classification based on deep learning. J. Inf. Syst. Eng. Manag. 2025, 10, 780–788. DOI: https://doi.org/10.52783/jisem.v10i3.6223
- 25. Gwalani, H.; Mittal, N.; Vidyarthi, A. Classification of brain tumours using genetic algorithms as a feature selection method (GAFS). In Proceedings of the International Conference on Informatics and Analytics, Pondicherry, India, 25–26 August 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/2980258.2980318
- 26. Thatha, V.N.; Karthik, M.G.; Gaddam, V.G.; et al. Histopathological image based breast cancer diagnosis using deep learning and bio inspired optimization. Sci. Rep. 2025, 15, 19034. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-04136-8
- 27. Frid-Adar, M.; Klang, E.; Amitai, M.; et al. Synthetic data augmentation using GAN for improved liver lesion classification. IEEE Trans. Med. Imaging 2018, 38, 677–685.
- 28. Wei, K.; Li, T.; Huang, F.; et al. Cancer classification with data augmentation based on generative adversarial networks. Front. Comput. Sci. 2022, 16, 162907. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11704-020-0025-x
- 29. Austin, R.; Parvathi, R. CNN based method for classifying cervical cancer cells in pap smear images. Sci. Rep. 2025, 15, 23936. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-10009-x
- 30. Belhadi, A.; Djenouri, Y.; Belbachir, A.N. Ensemble fuzzy deep learning for brain tumor detection. Sci. Rep. 2025, 15, 6124. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-90572-5
- 31. Chilamkurthy, S.; Ghosh, R.; Tanamala, S.; et al. Deep learning algorithms for detection of critical findings in head CT scans: A retrospective study. Lancet 2018, 392, 2388–2396.
- 32. Das, S.; Suganthan, P.N. Differential evolution: A survey of the state-of-the-art. IEEE Trans. Evol. Comput. 2011, 15, 4–31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TEVC.2010.2059031
- 33. Obuchowicz, R.; Lasek, J.; Wodziński, M.; et al. Artificial intelligence-empowered radiology—Current status and critical review. Diagnostics 2025, 15, 282. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15030282
- 34. Alenezi, A.M. Artificial intelligence in breast cancer diagnosis and surgical decision-making: an updated and comprehensive overview of precision and personalization in current evidence. Cancer Manag. Res. 2025, 17, 2261–2275. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/CMAR.S520224
- 35. Aličković, E.; Subasi, A. Breast cancer diagnosis using GA feature selection and Rotation Forest. Neural Comput. Appl. 2017, 28, 753–763. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00521-015-2103-9
- 36. Karamti, H.; Alharthi, R.; Umer, M.; et al. Breast cancer detection employing stacked ensemble model with convolutional features. Cancer Biomark. 2024, 40, 155–170.
- 37. Kabir, M.H.; Akhtar, N.I.; Tasnim, N.; et al. Exploring feature selection and classification techniques to improve the performance of an electroencephalography-based motor imagery brain–computer interface system. Sensors 2024, 24, 4989. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/s24154989