An intelligent framework for skin cancer detection and classification using fusion of Squeeze-Excitation-DenseNet with Metaheuristic-driven ensemble deep learning models

Skin cancer is the most dominant and critical method of cancer, which arises all over the world. Its damaging effects can range from disfigurement to major medical expenditures and even death if not analyzed and preserved timely. Conventional models of skin cancer recognition require a complete physical examination by a specialist, which is time-wasting in a few cases. Computer-aided medicinal analytical methods have gained massive popularity due to their efficiency and effectiveness. This model can assist dermatologists in the initial recognition of skin cancer, which is significant for early diagnosis. An automatic classification model utilizing deep learning (DL) can help doctors perceive the kind of skin lesion and improve the patient's health. The classification of skin cancer is one of the hot topics in the research field, along with the development of DL structure. This manuscript designs and develops a Detection of Skin Cancer Using an Ensemble Deep Learning Model and Gray Wolf Optimization (DSC-EDLMGWO) method. The proposed DSC-EDLMGWO model relies on the recognition and classification of skin cancer in biomedical imaging. The presented DSC-EDLMGWO model initially involves the image preprocessing stage at two levels: contract enhancement using the CLAHE method and noise removal using the wiener filter (WF) model. Furthermore, the proposed DSC-EDLMGWO model utilizes the SE-DenseNet method, which is the fusion of the squeeze-and-excitation (SE) module and DenseNet to extract features. For the classification process, the ensemble of DL models, namely the long short-term memory (LSTM) technique, extreme learning machine (ELM) model, and stacked sparse denoising autoencoder (SSDA) method, is employed. Finally, the gray wolf optimization (GWO) method optimally adjusts the ensemble DL models' hyperparameter values, resulting in more excellent classification performance. The effectiveness of the DSC-EDLMGWO approach is evaluated using a benchmark image database, with outcomes measured across various performance metrics. The experimental validation of the DSC-EDLMGWO approach portrayed a superior accuracy value of 98.38% and 98.17% under HAM10000 and ISIC datasets across other techniques.