Selfies could be used to diagnose cancer

Selfies appear to have only one purpose: to fuel our egotistical desire for likes, likes and more likes.

But scientists have found a much better use for the front camera.

Researchers at the University of Washington claim to have created an app that can diagnose pancreatic cancer from just one selfie.

How does this miraculous piece of technology work? It’s simple.

Biliscreen (the name of the app) analyses the amount of yellow discolouration in the whites of your eyes.

The discolouration – otherwise known as jaundice – is usually found in young children but can also be a sign of pancreatic cancer.

The app can supposedly detect signs of jaundice before they’re visible to the naked eye, removing the need for doctors in cancer diagnosis.

In a trial of 70 people, Biliscreen correctly identified ‘cases of concern’ almost 90% of the time.

This is a landmark move in the world of medicine as pancreatic cancer currently has a five-year survival rate of just 9%. This is due to it going undetected in a lot of cases.

“The problem with pancreatic cancer is that by the time you’re symptomatic, it’s frequently too late,” said Alex Mariakakis, lead author of the study.

“The hope is that if people can do this simple test once a month — in the privacy of their own homes — some might catch the disease early enough to undergo treatment that could save their lives.”

Who knew that selfies could end up being so important?

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for non-stop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyleUK.

Read more from Yahoo Style UK:

Woman told she had thrush for years actually had cancer

Concerns over talcum powder causing ovarian cancer

Woman warns that a straight black line down your nail could be a sign of cancer