title: Evaluation of the diagnostic power of thermography in breast cancer using Bayesian network classifiers.
abstract: Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death among women worldwide. There are a number of techniques used for diagnosing this disease: mammography, ultrasound, and biopsy, among others. Each of these has well-known advantages and disadvantages. A relatively new method, based on the temperature a tumor may produce, has recently been explored: thermography. In this paper, we will evaluate the diagnostic power of thermography in breast cancer using Bayesian network classifiers. We will show how the information provided by the thermal image can be used in order to characterize patients suspected of having cancer. Our main contribution is the proposal of a score, based on the aforementioned information, that could help distinguish sick patients from healthy ones. Our main results suggest the potential of this technique in such a goal but also show its main limitations that have to be overcome to consider it as an effective diagnosis complementary tool.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Inteligencia Artificial, Universidad Veracruzana, Sebastián Camacho 5, Centro, 91000 Xalapa, VZ, Mexico. ncruz@uv.mx
authors.forename: Cruz-Ramírez
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Nicandro
authors.forename: Mezura-Montes
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Efrén
authors.forename: Ameca-Alducin
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: María Yaneli
authors.forename: Martín-Del-Campo-Mena
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Enrique
authors.forename: Acosta-Mesa
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Héctor Gabriel
authors.forename: Pérez-Castro
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Nancy
authors.forename: Guerra-Hernández
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Alejandro
authors.forename: Hoyos-Rivera
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Guillermo de Jesús
authors.forename: Barrientos-Martínez
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Rocío Erandi
mesh_terms: D001499:Bayes Theorem; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D019295:Computational Biology; D016208:Databases, Factual; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013817:Thermography / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data