Doctors have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can predict a cancer patient’s chances of survival from a single photograph of their face. The AI system, custom-built by experts at Mass General Brigham in Massachusetts, aims to estimate biological age and directly predict survival outcomes in patients diagnosed with cancer.
Details of the breakthrough were published in the Lancet Digital Health journal. The system can estimate a person’s biological age – how old a person looks – and predict the chances of survival for cancer patients from an ordinary facial photograph, according to the study.
The technology led to two complementary tools: FAHR-FaceAge, which estimates biological age and predicts cancer survival, and FAHR-FaceSurvival, which predicts survival directly from a facial photograph. Hugo Aerts, a co-senior author of the study, stated this is the first demonstration of an AI model directly predicting cancer survival from a simple photograph.
Among cancer patients treated with radiotherapy in the US, those who, according to FAHR-FaceAge, looked five or more years older than their actual age had a 21% higher risk of dying during an average four-year follow-up. Conversely, patients who looked five or more years younger had a 17% lower risk.
Dr Raymond Mak, a radiation oncologist at Mass General Brigham, noted that the tool could help physicians estimate physical reserve and frailty before recommending intensive treatments. Researchers cautioned that more research is needed before the tool can be widely used, despite its potential as an easy, low-cost way to support personalised treatment decisions.