An Advanced Medical Diagnosis of Breast Cancer Histopathology Using Convolutional Neural Networks

Breast Cancer (BC) remains a leading malignancy among women, resulting in high mortality rates. Early and accurate detection is crucial for improving patient outcomes. Traditional diagnostic tools, while effective, have limitations that reduce their accessibility and accuracy. This study investigates the use of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to enhance the diagnostic process of BC histopathology. Utilizing the BreakHis dataset, which contains thousands of histopathological images, we developed a CNN model designed to improve the speed and accuracy of image analysis. Our CNN architecture was designed with multiple convolutional layers, max-pooling layers, and a fully connected network optimized for feature extraction and classification. Hyperparameter tuning was conducted to identify the optimal learning rate, batch size, and number of epochs, ensuring robust model performance. The dataset was divided into training (80%), validation (10%), and testing (10%) subsets, with performance evaluated using accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score metrics. Our CNN model achieved a magnification-independent accuracy of 97.72%, with specific accuracies of 97.50% at 40×, 97.61% at 100×, 99.06% at 200×, and 97.25% at 400× magnification levels. These results demonstrate the model’s superior performance relative to existing methods. The integration of CNNs in diagnostic workflows can potentially reduce pathologist workload, minimize interpretation errors, and increase the availability of diagnostic testing, thereby improving BC management and patient survival rates. This study highlights the effectiveness of deep learning in automating BC histopathological classification and underscores the potential for AI-driven diagnostic solutions to improve patient care.