# Deep Learning Generates Synthetic Cancer Histology for Explainability and Education

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2211.06522 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.06522/

## Key facts

- Cited by 7 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 21 of its 67 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 12 Nov 2022.

## Builds on (most cited first, 21 of 21)

- [Deep Residual Learning for Image Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1512.03385/) (2015)
- [A Style-Based Generator Architecture for Generative Adversarial Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.04948/) (2018)
- [MobileNetV2: Inverted Residuals and Linear Bottlenecks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.04381/) (2018)
- [Analyzing and Improving the Image Quality of StyleGAN](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.04958/) (2019)
- [Visualizing and Understanding Convolutional Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1311.2901/) (2013)
- [Interpretability Beyond Feature Attribution: Quantitative Testing with Concept Activation Vectors (TCAV)](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1711.11279/) (2017)
- [Alias-Free Generative Adversarial Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.12423/) (2021)
- [Show and Tell: A Neural Image Caption Generator](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1411.4555/) (2014)
- [Interpretable Explanations of Black Boxes by Meaningful Perturbation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1704.03296/) (2017)
- [Quantifying the effects of data augmentation and stain color normalization in convolutional neural networks for computational pathology](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.06543/) (2019)
- [Explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) in deep learning-based medical image analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.10912/) (2021)
- [Explaining in Style: Training a GAN to explain a classifier in StyleSpace](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.13369/) (2021)
- [Learn To Pay Attention](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1804.02391/) (2018)
- [StainGAN: Stain Style Transfer for Digital Histological Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1804.01601/) (2018)
- [PathologyGAN: Learning deep representations of cancer tissue](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1907.02644/) (2019)
- [GAN-based Virtual Re-Staining: A Promising Solution for Whole Slide Image Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1901.04059/) (2019)
- [Generative Adversarial Networks in Digital Pathology: A Survey on Trends and Future Potential](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.14936/) (2020)
- [Generative Image Translation for Data Augmentation in Colorectal Histopathology Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1910.05827/) (2019)
- [A Mixed-Supervision Multilevel GAN Framework for Image Quality Enhancement](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.15575/) (2021)
- [GANMEX: One-vs-One Attributions Guided by GAN-based Counterfactual Explanation Baselines](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.06015/) (2020)
- [Restoration of marker occluded hematoxylin and eosin stained whole slide histology images using generative adversarial networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1910.06428/) (2019)

## Built on by (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [DiffInfinite: Large Mask-Image Synthesis via Parallel Random Patch Diffusion in Histopathology](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.13384/) (2023)
- [Diffusion-based generation of Histopathological Whole Slide Images at a Gigapixel scale](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.08199/) (2023)
- [PathDiff: Histopathology Image Synthesis with Unpaired Text and Mask Conditions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.23440/) (2025)
- [Slideflow: Deep Learning for Digital Histopathology with Real-Time Whole-Slide Visualization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.04142/) (2023)
- [Two-stage Cytopathological Image Synthesis for Augmenting Cervical Abnormality Screening](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.14707/) (2024)
- [Synthetic Generation of Dermatoscopic Images with GAN and Closed-Form Factorization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.05114/) (2024)
- [Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) in Computational Pathology: Definitions, Taxonomy, and Recommendations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.28820/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Artificial intelligence methods including deep neural networks (DNN) can provide rapid molecular classification of tumors from routine histology with accuracy that matches or exceeds human pathologists. Discerning how neural networks make their predictions remains a significant challenge, but explainability tools help provide insights into what models have learned when corresponding histologic features are poorly defined. Here, we present a method for improving explainability of DNN models using synthetic histology generated by a conditional generative adversarial network (cGAN). We show that cGANs generate high-quality synthetic histology images that can be leveraged for explaining DNN models trained to classify molecularly-subtyped tumors, exposing histologic features associated with molecular state. Fine-tuning synthetic histology through class and layer blending illustrates nuanced morphologic differences between tumor subtypes. Finally, we demonstrate the use of synthetic histology for augmenting pathologist-in-training education, showing that these intuitive visualizations can reinforce and improve understanding of histologic manifestations of tumor biology.