# Multimodal Feature Prototype Learning for Interpretable and Discriminative Cancer Survival Prediction

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.06113 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.06113/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 36 of its 64 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 7 Oct 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 36)

- [Deep Residual Learning for Image Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1512.03385/) (2015)
- [Grad-CAM: Visual Explanations from Deep Networks via Gradient-based Localization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1610.02391/) (2016)
- [Prototypical Networks for Few-shot Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.05175/) (2017)
- [Attention-based Deep Multiple Instance Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.04712/) (2018)
- [Data Efficient and Weakly Supervised Computational Pathology on Whole Slide Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.09666/) (2020)
- [This Looks Like That: Deep Learning for Interpretable Image Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1806.10574/) (2018)
- [Self-Normalizing Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.02515/) (2017)
- [TransMIL: Transformer based Correlated Multiple Instance Learning for Whole Slide Image Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.00908/) (2021)
- [Whole Slide Images based Cancer Survival Prediction using Attention Guided Deep Multiple Instance Learning Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2009.11169/) (2020)
- [Modeling Dense Multimodal Interactions Between Biological Pathways and Histology for Survival Prediction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.06819/) (2023)
- [Multimodal Optimal Transport-based Co-Attention Transformer with Global Structure Consistency for Survival Prediction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.08330/) (2023)
- [Deep Learning for Survival Analysis: A Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.14961/) (2023)
- [Cross-Modal Translation and Alignment for Survival Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.12855/) (2023)
- [Multimodal Prototyping for cancer survival prediction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.00224/) (2024)
- [Prototypical Information Bottlenecking and Disentangling for Multimodal Cancer Survival Prediction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.01646/) (2024)
- [Generalizable Whole Slide Image Classification with Fine-Grained Visual-Semantic Interaction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.19326/) (2024)
- [Interpretable Image Classification with Adaptive Prototype-based Vision Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.20722/) (2024)
- [MoME: Mixture of Multimodal Experts for Cancer Survival Prediction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.09696/) (2024)
- [Accurate Leukocyte Detection Based on Deformable-DETR and Multi-Level Feature Fusion for Aiding Diagnosis of Blood Diseases](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.00926/) (2024)
- [Cohort-Individual Cooperative Learning for Multimodal Cancer Survival Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.02394/) (2024)
- [Robust Multimodal Survival Prediction with the Latent Differentiation Conditional Variational AutoEncoder](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.09496/) (2025)
- [Dynamic Policy-Driven Adaptive Multi-Instance Learning for Whole Slide Image Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.07939/) (2024)
- [Interpreting and Correcting Medical Image Classification with PIP-Net](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.10404/) (2023)
- [Mixture of Gaussian-distributed Prototypes with Generative Modelling for Interpretable and Trustworthy Image Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.00092/) (2023)
- [MCPNet: An Interpretable Classifier via Multi-Level Concept Prototypes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.08968/) (2024)
- [SCKansformer: Fine-Grained Classification of Bone Marrow Cells via Kansformer Backbone and Hierarchical Attention Mechanisms](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.09931/) (2024)
- [Queryable Prototype Multiple Instance Learning with Vision-Language Models for Incremental Whole Slide Image Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.10573/) (2024)
- [The Concordance Index decomposition: A measure for a deeper understanding of survival prediction models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.00144/) (2022)
- [Deep Copula-Based Survival Analysis for Dependent Censoring with Identifiability Guarantees](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.15566/) (2023)
- [SCMIL: Sparse Context-aware Multiple Instance Learning for Predicting Cancer Survival Probability Distribution in Whole Slide Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.00664/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Survival analysis plays a vital role in making clinical decisions. However, the models currently in use are often difficult to interpret, which reduces their usefulness in clinical settings. Prototype learning presents a potential solution, yet traditional methods focus on local similarities and static matching, neglecting the broader tumor context and lacking strong semantic alignment with genomic data. To overcome these issues, we introduce an innovative prototype-based multimodal framework, FeatProto, aimed at enhancing cancer survival prediction by addressing significant limitations in current prototype learning methodologies within pathology. Our framework establishes a unified feature prototype space that integrates both global and local features of whole slide images (WSI) with genomic profiles. This integration facilitates traceable and interpretable decision-making processes. Our approach includes three main innovations: (1) A robust phenotype representation that merges critical patches with global context, harmonized with genomic data to minimize local bias. (2) An Exponential Prototype Update Strategy (EMA ProtoUp) that sustains stable cross-modal associations and employs a wandering mechanism to adapt prototypes flexibly to tumor heterogeneity. (3) A hierarchical prototype matching scheme designed to capture global centrality, local typicality, and cohort-level trends, thereby refining prototype inference. Comprehensive evaluations on four publicly available cancer datasets indicate that our method surpasses current leading unimodal and multimodal survival prediction techniques in both accuracy and interpretability, providing a new perspective on prototype learning for critical medical applications. Our source code is available at https://github.com/JSLiam94/FeatProto.