A novel deep learning framework for accurate melanoma diagnosis integrating imaging and genomic data for improved patient outcomes

Abstract Background Melanoma is one of the most malignant forms of skin cancer, with a high mortality rate in the advanced stages. Therefore, early and accurate detection of melanoma plays an important role in improving patients’ prognosis. Biopsy is the traditional method for melanoma diagnosis, but this method lacks reliability. Therefore, it is important to apply new methods to diagnose melanoma effectively. Aim This study presents a new approach to classify melanoma using deep neural networks (DNNs) with combined multiple modal imaging and genomic data, which could potentially provide more reliable diagnosis than current medical methods for melanoma. Method We built a dataset of dermoscopic images, histopathological slides and genomic profiles. We developed a custom framework composed of two widely established types of neural networks for analysing image data Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and networks that can learn graph structure for analysing genomic data‐Graph Neural Networks. We trained and evaluated the proposed framework on this dataset. Results The developed multi‐modal DNN achieved higher accuracy than traditional medical approaches. The mean accuracy of the proposed model was 92.5% with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.96, suggesting that the multi‐modal DNN approach can detect critical morphologic and molecular features of melanoma beyond the limitations of traditional AI and traditional machine learning approaches. The combination of cutting‐edge AI may allow access to a broader range of diagnostic data, which can allow dermatologists to make more accurate decisions and refine treatment strategies. However, the application of the framework will have to be validated at a larger scale and more clinical trials need to be conducted to establish whether this novel diagnostic approach will be more effective and feasible.