Diagnostic and Prognostic Deep Learning Applications for Histological Assessment of Cutaneous Melanoma

Abstract

Melanoma is among the most devastating human malignancies. Accurate diagnosis and prognosis are essential to offer optimal treatment. Histopathology is the gold standard for establishing melanoma diagnosis and prognostic features. However, discrepancies often exist between pathologists, and analysis is costly and time-consuming. Deep-learning algorithms are deployed to improve melanoma diagnosis and prognostication from histological images of melanoma. In recent years, the development of these machine-learning tools has accelerated, and machine learning is poised to become a clinical tool to aid melanoma histology. Nevertheless, a review of the advances in machine learning in melanoma histology was lacking. We performed a comprehensive literature search to provide a complete overview of the recent advances in machine learning in the assessment of melanoma based on hematoxylin eosin digital pathology images. In our work, we review 37 recent publications, compare the methods and performance of the reviewed studies, and highlight the variety of promising machine-learning applications in melanoma histology.

Histopathologic abundance of pigmentation correlates with disease‐specific survival in malignant melanoma but is not independent of current AJCC pT stage

“…Nevertheless, these tests are costly and cannot be broadly applied yet. In addition, artificial intelligence‐based models that can estimate classification, prognosis, and, in some cases, treatment response in melanoma are being developed (Brinker et al, 2021; Forchhammer et al, 2022; Grant et al, 2022; Johannet et al, 2021; Kulkarni et al, 2020).…”