MFF-ClassificationNet: CNN-Transformer Hybrid with Multi-Feature Fusion for Breast Cancer Histopathology Classification

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent malignant tumors among women worldwide, underscoring the urgent need for early and accurate diagnosis to reduce mortality. To address this, A Multi-Feature Fusion Classification Network (MFF-ClassificationNet) is proposed for breast histopathological image classification. The network adopts a two-branch parallel architecture, where a convolutional neural network captures local details and a Transformer models global dependencies. Their features are deeply integrated through a Multi-Feature Fusion module, which incorporates a Convolutional Block Attention Module—Squeeze and Excitation (CBAM-SE) fusion block combining convolutional block attention, squeeze-and-excitation mechanisms, and a residual inverted multilayer perceptron to enhance fine-grained feature representation and category-specific lesion characterization. Experimental evaluations on the BreakHis dataset achieved accuracies of 98.30%, 97.62%, 98.81%, and 96.07% at magnifications of 40×, 100×, 200×, and 400×, respectively, while an accuracy of 97.50% was obtained on the BACH dataset. These results confirm that integrating local and global features significantly strengthens the model’s ability to capture multi-scale and context-aware information, leading to superior classification performance. Overall, MFF-ClassificationNet surpasses conventional single-path approaches and provides a robust, generalizable framework for advancing computer-aided diagnosis of breast cancer.