Mass General Brigham researchers developed and tested an AI tool called FaceAge, which analyzes a photograph of a person's face to estimate their biological age and predict survival outcomes for patients with cancer. As of 2025–2026, the tool remains in research and validation phases and has not been confirmed as deployed in routine clinical care.

FaceAge uses a deep learning algorithm trained on 58,851 photos of healthy individuals, then tested on cohorts of cancer patients receiving radiotherapy. Studies found that cancer patients appeared biologically about five years older than their chronological age per FaceAge, and that older FaceAge estimates correlated with worse survival outcomes. A 2025 study published in The Lancet Digital Health found FaceAge outperformed clinicians in predicting short-term life expectancy for patients receiving palliative radiotherapy. A 2026 study in Nature Communications extended the concept to measuring the rate of facial aging over multiple photos to create a 'Face Aging Rate' prognostic biomarker. Researchers have stated more studies are needed before FaceAge can be routinely used in clinical settings.