# Deep learning-based automatic segmentation and classification for cervical cancer detection using an improved U-Net and ensemble methods

**Authors:** Betelhem Zewdu Wubineh, Andrzej Rusiecki, Krzysztof Halawa

PMC · DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-35299-7 · Scientific Reports · 2026-01-13

## TL;DR

This paper presents a deep learning method combining improved U-Net and ensemble models to automatically detect cervical cancer cells with high accuracy.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is an improved U-Net and ensemble-based framework for cervical cancer detection with enhanced segmentation and classification performance.

## Key findings

- The framework achieved 99.53% accuracy in whole-cell segmentation with RES_DCGAN on the Pomeranian dataset.
- Binary classification on SIPaKMeD reached 99% accuracy using the ensemble method.
- Multi-class classification on Pomeranian and SIPaKMeD datasets achieved 96% and 95% accuracy, respectively.

## Abstract

Cervical cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related illness and death among women worldwide. The Pap test is a widely used screening technique to detect abnormal cells that can become cancerous. In this research, we proposed a method for automatic segmentation and classification of cervical cancer cell images. The method uses an improved U-Net architecture to segment the image and identify the region of interest (ROI). Following segmentation, we classify the cervical cell type using ResNet50V2 and an ensemble of different pretrained models to enhance performance. We developed several pipelines for cervical cancer detection, including a normal method, with and without RES_DCGAN, before classification and segmentation tasks. The proposed method was evaluated using the Pomeranian, Herlev, and SIPaKMeD datasets. The experimental results showed that whole-cell segmentation achieved 99.53%, 88.95%, and 98.3% accuracy when RES_DCGAN was added before the segmentation. The framework achieved 96% and 95% accuracy for multi-class classification on the Pomeranian and SIPaKMeD datasets, respectively. Additionally, the Herlev dataset scored an accuracy of 91%, while SIPaKMeD achieved 99% for the binary classification of cervical cell types using the ensemble method. In conclusion, the deep learning-based segmentation and classification method demonstrated promising results for cervical cancer detection and can help pathologists diagnose the disease.

## Linked entities

- **Diseases:** cervical cancer (MONDO:0002974)

## Full-text entities

- **Diseases:** squamous non-keratinizing dysplasia (MESH:C565584), precancerous lesions (MESH:D011230), squamous cell carcinoma in situ (MESH:D002294), HSIL (MESH:D000081483), cancer (MESH:D009369), death (MESH:D003643), Cervical cancer (MESH:D002583)
- **Chemicals:** DCGAN (-), Pap (MESH:D010724), RES (MESH:D012211)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606]

## Full text

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## Figures

7 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12881601/full.md

## References

22 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12881601/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12881601