A Comparative Study to Evaluate the Performance of Classification Algorithms in Mammogram Analysis

Abstract

Breast cancer is a major threat humans are facing irrespective of geographical limits. The awareness about breast cancer has increased during the last decade and many preventive measures were in practice to detect the breast cancer before the symptoms were felt. Mammography is a screening methodology currently in practice. In this paper the mammogram image is analyzed using automated system. The automated system is designed to be capable of distinguishing the mammogram image into a normal or malignant. This process involves image enhancement and image segmentation at preprocessing level. Histogram equalization technique is used to transform low contrast region of the mammogram into region with higher contrast and Fuzzy C Means (FCM) algorithm is used to segment the mammogram image into regions suitable for further analysis. After enhancement and segmentation at preprocessing level the classification is done using three classification algorithms like decision tree classifier, Neural Network classifier and Support Vector Machine (SVM). The performance of the classification algorithms is evaluated using the following criteria like speed, flexibility, robustness, scalability, interpretability, Time complexity and also based on accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. The results obtained in classification are compared with other classification algorithms. It is found that the neural network classifier approach produces better results compared to other classifiers.The average accuracy in diagnosis by Neural Network approach classifier is around 91%.  Also it is found that the decision tree approach is much flexible and easy to use compared to other approaches.