Exploring Pre-Trained Models for Skin Cancer Classification

Accurate skin cancer classification is essential for early diagnosis and effective treatment planning, enabling timely interventions and improved patient outcomes. In this paper, the performance of four pre-trained models—two convolutional neural networks (ResNet50 and VGG19) and two vision transformers (ViT-b16 and ViT-b32)—is evaluated in distinguishing malignant from benign skin cancers using a publicly available dermoscopic dataset. Among these models, ResNet50 achieved the highest performance across all the evaluation metrics, with accuracy, precision, and recall of 89.09% and an F1 score of 89.08%, demonstrating its ability to effectively capture complex patterns in skin lesion images. While the other models produced competitive results, ResNet50 exhibited superior robustness and consistency. To enhance model interpretability, two eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) techniques, Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations (LIME) and integrated gradients, were employed to provide insights into the decision-making process, fostering trust in automated diagnostic systems. These findings underscore the potential of deep learning for automated skin cancer classification and highlight the importance of model transparency for clinical adoption. As AI technology continues to evolve, its integration into clinical workflows could improve diagnostic accuracy, reduce the workload of healthcare professionals, and enhance patient outcomes.