A scalable mixed-integer conic optimization approach to cardinality-constrained Poisson regression with safe screening

Abstract: This paper introduces a novel approach for cardinality-constrained Poisson regression to address feature selection challenges in high-dimensional count data. We formulate the problem as a mixed-integer conic optimization, enabling the use of modern solvers for optimal solutions. To enhance computational efficiency, we develop a safe screening based on Fenchel conjugates, thereby effectively removing irrelevant features before optimization. Experiments on synthetic datasets demonstrate that our safe screening significantly reduces the problem size, leading to substantial improvements in computational time. Our approach can solve Poisson regression problems with tens of thousands of features, exceeding the scale of previous studies. This work provides a valuable tool for interpretable feature selection in high-dimensional Poisson regression.