Leveraging transfer learning from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) pretraining to enhance Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) prediction

We overcome current limitations in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) diagnosis by leveraging a transfer learning approach from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) classification models, thus addressing the urgent need for more accurate and accessible AML diagnostic tools. AML has poorer prognosis than ALL, with a 5-year relative survival rate of only 17-19% compared to ALL survival rates of up to 75%, making early and accurate detection of AML paramount. Current diagnostic methods, rely heavily on manual microscopic examination, and are often subjective, time-consuming, and can suffer from inter-observer variability. While machine learning has shown promise in cancer classification, its application to AML detection, particularly leveraging the potential of transfer learning from related cancers like Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), remains underexplored. A comprehensive review of state-of-the-art advancements in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) classification using deep learning algorithms is undertaken and key approaches are evaluated. The insights gained from this review inform the development of two novel machine learning pipelines designed to benchmark effectiveness of proposed transfer learning approaches. Five pre-trained models are fine-tuned using ALL training data (a novel approach in this context) to optimize their potential for AML classification. The result was the development of a best-in-class (BIC) model that surpasses current state-of-the-art (SOTA) performance in AML classification, advancing the accuracy of machine learning (ML)-driven cancer diagnostics. Author summaryAcute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is an aggressive cancer with a poor prognosis. Early and accurate diagnosis is critical, but current methods are often subjective and time-consuming. We wanted to create a more accurate diagnostic tool by applying a technique called transfer learning from a similar cancer, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Two machine learning pipelines were developed. The first trained five different models on a large AML dataset to establish a baseline. The second pipeline first trained these models on an ALL dataset to "learn" from it before fine-tuning them on the AML data. Our experiments showed that the models that underwent transfer learning process consistently performed better than the models trained on AML data alone. The MobileNetV2 model, in particular, was the best-in-class, outperforming all other models and surpassing the best-reported metrics for AML classification in current literature. Our research demonstrates that transfer learning can enable highly accurate AML diagnostic models. The best-in-class model could potentially be used as a AML diagnostic tool, helping clinicians make faster and more accurate diagnoses, improving patient outcomes.