Face aging rate quantifies change in biological age to predict cancer outcomes

Apr 28, 2026Nature communications

How the speed of face aging measures biological age and predicts cancer outcomes

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Abstract

Higher Face Aging Rate (FAR) is associated with worse overall survival in cancer patients receiving radiation therapy.

FAR is calculated as the change in biological age predicted from facial photographs over time.
Data from 2276 cancer patients were analyzed, with photographs taken during routine care.
In patients with a short interval of 10-365 days between photographs, a higher FAR has an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.25, indicating increased risk of mortality.
For mid intervals of 366-730 days, the adjusted hazard ratio rises to 1.37.
In patients with long intervals of 731-1,460 days, the adjusted hazard ratio increases further to 1.65.
FAR offers additional prognostic information compared to static measures of biological age.

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Chronological age predicts cancer survival but does not capture differences in biological aging rates. We apply FaceAge, an artificial intelligence algorithm that predicts biological age from a facial photograph, to serial clinical facial photographs to calculate the Face Aging Rate (FAR; change in FaceAge divided by the time between photographs). We analyze data from 2276 cancer patients receiving radiation therapy, using photographs captured during routine care. Higher FAR is associated with worse overall survival in stratified analyses of cohorts with the following intervals between photographs: short 10-365 days (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] and 95% confidence interval: 1.25 [1.03-1.51]), mid 366-730 days (aHR: 1.37 [1.00-1.86]), and long 731-1,460 days (aHR: 1.65 [1.22-2.22]) after adjustment for time between photographs, sex, race, and diagnosis. FAR provides additional prognostic information beyond single time-point measures of FaceAge. FAR is a non-invasive prognostic biomarker that captures dynamic changes in biological aging.

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Face photos can predict cancer survival by tracking biological aging rate

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Face aging rate quantifies change in biological age to predict cancer outcomes

Abstract

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