HealthThe Guardian

New AI tool can predict cancer survival by a single patient selfie, study suggests

Researchers have built an AI tool that can predict a cancer patient's survival chances from a single photo of their face.

System can estimate a person’s biological age and predict chances of cancer survival from a single photograph

The Long Sip
What happened

Doctors at Mass General Brigham published research in the Lancet Digital Health showing an AI can predict cancer survival from a face photo.

The detail

The system uses two tools, FAHR-FaceAge and FAHR-FaceSurvival, trained on more than 40 million facial photographs across different ages and ethnicities.

What it means

The study found patients who looked five or more years older than their actual age had a 21% higher risk of dying during treatment.

For you

The study found cancer patients who looked five or more years older than their real age had a 21% higher risk of dying, suggesting facial AI could one day help guide treatment decisions.

Full story at The Guardian

What readers are saying

nelle1991
The model was trained on over 40 million facial photographs across ethnicities and ages. That scale makes the biological age estimates far more reliable than earlier smaller studies.
BeaufortMands
This could change treatment decisions fast.
Wayne
FAHR-FaceSurvival looks at the area below the eyes and around the nasal bridge rather than the nasolabial folds used for biological age. That separation lets the model pull different signals from the same photo which could improve risk assessment before radiotherapy.
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