Intelligent cervical cancer detection: empowering healthcare with machine learning algorithms

Abstract

Cervical cancer remains a significant global health issue, particularly in underdeveloped nations, where it contributes to high mortality rates. Early detection is critical for improving treatment outcomes and survival rates. This study employs machine learning (ML) algorithms to predict cervical cancer risk using a dataset from the University of California at Irvine (UCI), which includes demographic and clinical attributes such as age, sexual history, smoking habits, and medical history. After applying data preprocessing techniques, several classification algorithms, including logistic regression (LR), support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), decision tree, adaptive boosting (AdaBoost), and artificial neural networks (ANN), were trained and evaluated. The models were assessed using classification metrics such as precision, recall, and F1 score. Among the models, the ANN demonstrated the highest accuracy, achieving a score of 0.95. In addition, correlation analysis revealed significant relationships between various risk factors, providing insights into cervical cancer mechanisms and potential preventive measures. The study highlights the potential of ML in improving cervical cancer detection and patient outcomes, suggesting that advanced ML techniques can be valuable tools in healthcare research and clinical applications.