Feature Selection for Colon Cancer Detection Using K-Means Clustering and Modified Harmony Search Algorithm

• Main Authors: Jin Hee Bae, Minwoo Kim, J.S. Lim, Zong Woo Geem
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
• Series: Mathematics
• Subjects: feature selection; colorectal cancer; gene expression; K-means clustering; modified harmony search
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/9/5/570

This paper proposes a feature selection method that is effective in distinguishing colorectal cancer patients from normal individuals using K-means clustering and the modified harmony search algorithm. As the genetic cause of colorectal cancer originates from mutations in genes, it is important to classify the presence or absence of colorectal cancer through gene information. The proposed methodology consists of four steps. First, the original data are Z-normalized by data preprocessing. Candidate genes are then selected using the Fisher score. Next, one representative gene is selected from each cluster after candidate genes are clustered using K-means clustering. Finally, feature selection is carried out using the modified harmony search algorithm. The gene combination created by feature selection is then applied to the classification model and verified using 5-fold cross-validation. The proposed model obtained a classification accuracy of up to 94.36%. Furthermore, on comparing the proposed method with other methods, we prove that the proposed method performs well in classifying colorectal cancer. Moreover, we believe that the proposed model can be applied not only to colorectal cancer but also to other gene-related diseases.