# Breast Cancer Classification Using Feature Selection via Improved Simulated Annealing and SVM Classifier

**Authors:** Maedeh Kiani Sarkaleh, Hossein Azgomi, Azadeh Kiani-Sarkaleh

PMC · DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics16040637 · Diagnostics · 2026-02-23

## TL;DR

This paper presents a breast cancer detection system using an improved simulated annealing algorithm and SVM, achieving high accuracy on standard datasets.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is the use of an improved simulated annealing algorithm for feature selection in breast cancer classification.

## Key findings

- The system achieved 99.67% accuracy on the CBIS-DDSM dataset and 98% on the MIAS dataset.
- The ISA algorithm outperformed traditional SA and full-feature approaches in classification performance.

## Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is among the most common cancers in women, and early diagnosis is critical for better treatment outcomes and reduced mortality. Efficient computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) systems play a crucial role in enhancing diagnostic accuracy and facilitating timely clinical decisions. Methods: This study proposes an automated CAD system for detecting cancerous tumors in mammograms, consisting of four stages: preprocessing, feature extraction, feature selection, and classification. In preprocessing, the region of interest (ROI) is extracted, followed by noise suppression and contrast enhancement to improve image quality. Shape, histogram, and tissue-related features are then computed from each ROI. An Improved Simulated Annealing (ISA) algorithm is employed to adaptively select the most informative features through a flexible process and composite fitness function, effectively reducing dimensionality while preserving high classification accuracy. Finally, classification is performed using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) to distinguish between malignant and benign masses. Results: Evaluation on the CBIS-DDSM and MIAS datasets showed the system achieved accuracies of 99.67% and 98%, sensitivities of 99.33% and 98%, and F1-scores of 99.66% and 97.9%, respectively. These results indicate notable improvements over traditional SA and full-feature approaches. Conclusions: The findings confirm the effectiveness of the ISA algorithm in selecting relevant features, thereby enhancing the performance of breast cancer detection.

## Linked entities

- **Diseases:** breast cancer (MONDO:0004989)

## Full-text entities

- **Diseases:** death (MESH:D003643), breast masses (MESH:D061325), metastasize (MESH:D009362), Benign and malignant tumors (MESH:D018198), Breast cancer (MESH:D001943), MIAS (MESH:C564543), injury to (MESH:D014947), Benign tumors (MESH:D009369), microcalcifications (MESH:D002114)
- **Chemicals:** ISA (-)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606]

## Full text

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## Figures

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## References

23 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12939053/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12939053