On the role of explanations in machine learning prediction of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a common disease that ultimately can lead to the development of end-stage liver disease, cirrhosis, or hepatocellular carcinoma. An early prediction of NASH provides an opportunity to make an appropriate strategy for prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment....

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Authors: Babakov, Nikolay; Rezgova, Elena; Reiter, Ehud; Bugarín-Diz, Alberto
Format: Article
Publication date:2025
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (USC)
Repository:Minerva. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Santiago de Compostela
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:minerva.usc.gal:10347/43406
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10347/43406
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Textual explanations
Natural Language Generation
Explainable Machine Learning
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)
NonAlcoholic SteatoHepatitis (NASH)
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author Babakov, Nikolay
author2 Rezgova, Elena
Reiter, Ehud
Bugarín-Diz, Alberto
author2_role author
author
author
author_browse Babakov, Nikolay
Bugarín-Diz, Alberto
Reiter, Ehud
Rezgova, Elena
author_facet Babakov, Nikolay
Rezgova, Elena
Reiter, Ehud
Bugarín-Diz, Alberto
author_role author
collection Minerva. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Santiago de Compostela
description Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a common disease that ultimately can lead to the development of end-stage liver disease, cirrhosis, or hepatocellular carcinoma. An early prediction of NASH provides an opportunity to make an appropriate strategy for prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment. The most accurate approach for NASH diagnostics is a liver biopsy, which can lead to various complications for the patient. Many papers have studied non-invasive machine learning (ML)-driven approaches to early non-invasive NASH prediction; however, to the best of our knowledge, none of the works considered the problem of explainability of the trained ML models to the medical experts. In this work, we address this issue. We use the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) nonalcoholic fatty liver disease adult database to train different ML models and propose the technique to explain their predictions. We compare the explanations obtained from a transparent model (Decision Tree) and a non-transparent model (Random Forest). Furthermore, we analyze the quality of explanation prediction by objective means and with a user study involving 11 medical practitioners. Our findings show that there is no significant difference in the perception of explanation obtained from transparent and non-transparent models, and that the explanation of the models’ predictions slightly increases their usability and trustworthiness for real practitioners, enhancing their practical adoption in clinical settings.
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language eng
network_acronym_str ES
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oai_identifier_str oai:minerva.usc.gal:10347/43406
publishDate 2025
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spelling On the role of explanations in machine learning prediction of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis Babakov, Nikolay Rezgova, Elena Reiter, Ehud Bugarín-Diz, Alberto Textual explanations Natural Language Generation Explainable Machine Learning Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) NonAlcoholic SteatoHepatitis (NASH) Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a common disease that ultimately can lead to the development of end-stage liver disease, cirrhosis, or hepatocellular carcinoma. An early prediction of NASH provides an opportunity to make an appropriate strategy for prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment. The most accurate approach for NASH diagnostics is a liver biopsy, which can lead to various complications for the patient. Many papers have studied non-invasive machine learning (ML)-driven approaches to early non-invasive NASH prediction; however, to the best of our knowledge, none of the works considered the problem of explainability of the trained ML models to the medical experts. In this work, we address this issue. We use the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) nonalcoholic fatty liver disease adult database to train different ML models and propose the technique to explain their predictions. We compare the explanations obtained from a transparent model (Decision Tree) and a non-transparent model (Random Forest). Furthermore, we analyze the quality of explanation prediction by objective means and with a user study involving 11 medical practitioners. Our findings show that there is no significant difference in the perception of explanation obtained from transparent and non-transparent models, and that the explanation of the models’ predictions slightly increases their usability and trustworthiness for real practitioners, enhancing their practical adoption in clinical settings. Springer https://hdl.handle.net/10347/43406
spellingShingle On the role of explanations in machine learning prediction of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
Babakov, Nikolay
Textual explanations
Natural Language Generation
Explainable Machine Learning
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)
NonAlcoholic SteatoHepatitis (NASH)
title On the role of explanations in machine learning prediction of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
title_full On the role of explanations in machine learning prediction of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
title_fullStr On the role of explanations in machine learning prediction of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
title_full_unstemmed On the role of explanations in machine learning prediction of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
title_short On the role of explanations in machine learning prediction of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
title_sort On the role of explanations in machine learning prediction of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
topic Textual explanations
Natural Language Generation
Explainable Machine Learning
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)
NonAlcoholic SteatoHepatitis (NASH)
topic_facet Textual explanations
Natural Language Generation
Explainable Machine Learning
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)
NonAlcoholic SteatoHepatitis (NASH)
url https://hdl.handle.net/10347/43406