The body’s biological age develops differently from one individual to another.
According to a study published in Nature Communications, cited by Medonet, this difference may influence how patients cope with cancer.
However, measuring biological age in a simple way has been challenging. Therefore, researchers have turned to artificial intelligence to analyze facial features.
The tool FaceAge assesses factors such as skin condition and facial structure to calculate a person’s biological age.
Also read: This is why there are stickers on fruit – and what happens if you eat them
Previous studies indicate that patients with a higher biological age often have poorer outcomes.
Study of patients
A total of 2,276 cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy participated in the study.
Photographs of their faces were taken at the start of treatment and subsequently analyzed using AI, according to Medonet.
Researchers measured how quickly the face changed over time.
Also read: How blueberries can affect your blood pressure if you eat them regularly
They found that faster aging was associated with a higher risk of death, regardless of the type of cancer or other factors.
The risk was highest among patients with advanced disease.
At the same time, the results showed that changes in aging over time were more important than the difference between biological and chronological age.
Potential implications
The method is relatively inexpensive and can be used multiple times during a course of treatment.
Also read: Study examines cardiac arrest risk linked to common blood pressure drug
Nevertheless, the researchers emphasize that there are limitations, partly because the participant group was not sufficiently diverse.
There are also concerns about data security and the risk of errors in the technology. Therefore, further studies are required before the method can be applied in practice.
Sources: Medonet and Nature Communications.
Also read: Your liver can repair itself – here’s how to help it along
Also read: These are the healthiest nuts ranked by nutrition experts