PEDRA-EFB0: colorectal cancer prognostication using deep learning with patch embeddings and dual residual attention.

Journal: Medical & biological engineering & computing
Published Date:

Abstract

In computer-aided diagnosis systems, precise feature extraction from CT scans of colorectal cancer using deep learning is essential for effective prognosis. However, existing convolutional neural networks struggle to capture long-range dependencies and contextual information, resulting in incomplete CT feature extraction. To address this, the PEDRA-EFB0 architecture integrates patch embeddings and a dual residual attention mechanism for enhanced feature extraction and survival prediction in colorectal cancer CT scans. A patch embedding method processes CT scans into patches, creating positional features for global representation and guiding spatial attention computation. Additionally, a dual residual attention mechanism during the upsampling stage selectively combines local and global features, enhancing CT data utilization. Furthermore, this paper proposes a feature selection algorithm that combines autoencoders and entropy technology, encoding and compressing high-dimensional data to reduce redundant information and using entropy to assess the importance of features, thereby achieving precise feature selection. Experimental results indicate the PEDRA-EFB0 model outperforms traditional methods on colorectal cancer CT metrics, notably in C-index, BS, MCC, and AUC, enhancing survival prediction accuracy. Our code is freely available at https://github.com/smile0208z/PEDRA .

Authors

  • Zihao Zhao
    School of Information and Computer, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China.
  • Hao Wang
    Department of Cardiology, Second Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
  • Dinghui Wu
    Key Laboratory of Light Industry, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China. wdh123@jiangnan.edu.cn.
  • Qibing Zhu
    Key Laboratory of Advanced Process Control for Light Industry (Ministry of Education), Jiangnan University, 214122 Wuxi, China.
  • Xueping Tan
    School of Internet of Things Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China.
  • Shudong Hu
    Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, PR China.
  • Yuxi Ge
    Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, PR China.