Ray Mak, Director of Clinical Innovation at the Department of Radiation Oncology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“AI and Aging: Frailty gap in older adults receiving lung SBRT, and how FaceAge can complement geriatric screening
Since our FaceAge paper came out in The Lancet Group Digital Health, we’ve been exploring further clinical use cases for translation. A new IJROBP The Red Journal study of older adults (stage I–II NSCLC, SBRT) tested an abridged vulnerability model (G8 geriatric screen + Charlson Comorbidity Index + FaceAge) and found associations with overall survival, with G8 also tracking falls risk.
Takeaway: FaceAge adds signal on top of age/ECOG and standard screens and is a complement, not a replacement for comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA).
Why it matters: CGA is the gold standard but time-intensive; brief screens like G8 help triage. A low-friction, photo-based biomarker (FaceAge) can flag who needs full CGA and support counseling during SBRT consults.
How to use it (pragmatic workflow):
- Screen with G8 (≤14 → CGA referral).
- Layer CCI + FaceAge to prioritize expedited CGA and supportive services and detect patients with significant age discordance (accelerated aging).
Shout-out: Lead author Leah L. Thompson, MD and teams across Mass General Brigham
Papers and context:
Red Journal G8<>FaceAge Mash-up.
FaceAge in Lancet Digital Health.
ASCO Practical Geriatric Assessment (2023 update).
What’s next (our trial): We’re leading a prospective study: NCT06987890: Practical Geriatric Assessment in Older Adults With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Undergoing SBRT. It evaluates pragmatic geriatric workflows in radiation oncology to better identify vulnerability and guide supportive care.”
Title: Associations Between G8 Geriatric Screening Score, Charlson Comorbidity Index, AI-Based Age Phenotype, and Overall Survival in Older Adults With Stage I-II Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Authors: Leah L. Thompson, Priya M. Amin, Sanjana Shah, Sarah M. Lipson, Jenny Yoon, Grace Lee, Nancy Anabaraonye, Austin T. Gregg, Sharon Jiang, Emilie Baxter, Caterina Florissi, John He, Anurag Saraf, Ryan D. Nipp, Dennis Bontempi, Fridolin Haugg, Hugo J.W.L. Aerts, Raymond H. Mak
Title: FaceAge, a deep learning system to estimate biological age from face photographs to improve prognostication: a model development and validation study
Authors: Dennis Bontempi, Osbert Zalay, Danielle S Bitterman, Nicolai Birkbak, Derek Shyr, Fridolin Haugg, Jack M Qian, Hannah Roberts, Subha Perni, Vasco Prudente, Suraj Pai, Andre Dekker, Benjamin Haibe-Kains, Christian Guthier, Tracy Balboni, Laura Warren, Monica Krishan, Benjamin H Kann, Charles Swanton, Dirk De Ruysscher, Raymond H Mak, Hugo J W L Aerts
Title: Practical Assessment and Management of Vulnerabilities in Older Patients Receiving Systemic Cancer Therapy: ASCO Guideline Update
Authors: William Dale, Heidi D Klepin, Grant R Williams, Shabbir M H Alibhai, Cristiane Bergerot, Karlynn Brintzenhofeszoc, Judith O Hopkins, Minaxi P Jhawer, Vani Katheria, Kah Poh Loh, Lisa M Lowenstein, June M McKoy, Vanita Noronha, Tanyanika Phillips, Ashley E Rosko, Tracy Ruegg, Melody K Schiaffino, John F Simmons Jr, Ishwaria Subbiah, William P Tew, Tracy L Webb, Mary Whitehead, Mark R Somerfield, Supriya G Mohile
More posts featuring Ray Mak.