Learning invariant features of tumor signatures

We present a novel method for automated learning of features from unlabeled image patches for classification of tumor architecture. In contrast to previous manually-designed feature detectors (e.g., Gabor basis function), the proposed method utilizes inexpensive un-labeled data to construct features. The algorithm, also known as reconstruction independent subspace analysis, can be described as a two-layer network with non-linear responses, where the second layer represents subspace structures. The technique is applied to tissue sections for characterizing necrosis, apoptotic, and viable regions of Glioblastoma Multifrome (GBM) from TCGA dataset. Experimental results show that this method outperforms more complex expert-designed approaches. The fact that our approach learns features automatically from unlabeled data promises a wider application of self-learning strategies for tissue characterization.