Magnetic resonance imaging uses a magnetic field to produce detailed pictures of organs, bones, and other structures in the body.
AP
Prenuvo MRI Scanner. Unlike many other types of scans, MRI does not use radiation.
Ben Gantos/AP
Magnetic resonance imaging scan results.
AP
What if there was a way to monitor your own body and detect early signs of cancer and other life-threatening diseases before they become serious?
That’s the selling point of a new crop of companies selling high-tech scans to healthy people who want to know more about their health.
These full-body MRI scans aren’t cheap: Startups like Prenuvo charge between $1,000 and $2,500 for various scanning options, none of which are currently covered by insurance.
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Proponents say consumer-driven medical scans are the next logical step in preventive medicine, and the industry has gotten a lot of publicity from celebrities and influencers like Kim Kardashian, who posted about the PreNuvoScan last year.
But many medical experts say the expensive, unproven technologies these companies are selling are causing unnecessary worry and treatment, driving up costs for the U.S. health care system.
Here’s what you need to know before considering a scan:
What is MRI?
MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. It’s a type of medical scan that uses a magnetic field to create detailed pictures of organs, bones, and other structures in the body. Unlike many other types of scans, MRI doesn’t use radiation.
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Doctors order MRI scans to help diagnose cancer, brain injuries, vascular damage, and other medical conditions. Full-body scans can take an hour or more, and involve the patient lying motionless inside a cylindrical tube.
Medical societies recommend regular full-body scans only for certain high-risk groups, such as those with a high genetic risk of cancer.
“MRI is a great test for what it’s designed to do,” said Dr. Ernest Hawk, vice president of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, “but now we’re expanding it much earlier into average-risk populations, and that’s where we’re running into questions that haven’t been answered before.”
Why are people paying for them now?
Companies like Prenuvo say their scans can identify more than 500 medical conditions that may not be detected during a regular doctor’s visit.
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The company charges $999 for a torso scan, $1,799 for a head and torso scan, and $2,499 for a full body scan. There are several other companies offering similar services and prices.
Dr. Daniel Durand, Prenuvo’s chief medical officer, says customers can decide for themselves whether the price is worth it.
“We’re trying to give people the opportunity to be more proactive about their health,” Durand said.
In addition to the scan results and an easy-to-read summary of results, customers can consult with a nurse or doctor employed by Prenuvo to discuss next steps.
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The company says it doesn’t pay for recommendations, but sometimes “provides free scans for unbiased reviews.”
What are the potential drawbacks?
Many radiologists say that in people without symptoms, the chances of finding a serious problem, like a cancerous tumor or brain aneurysm, are very low. Instead, the scan is more likely to find a growth that’s usually harmless, but that may require additional tests, consultations, or even surgery to completely rule out a problem.
“We’re going to end up finding a lot of incidental abnormalities,” says Dr. Mina Macari, a radiologist at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, “which will result in additional stress and trauma for patients, including the added costs of potentially risky tests and procedures.”
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Experts also worry that people who have MRI scans may stop going for other routine check-ups, such as mammograms.
“They get scanned and nothing is found, so they say, ‘Oh, I don’t need to do any of the other routine procedures that doctors recommend that have been proven to help extend life,'” Hawk says.
What are health authorities saying?
The American College of Radiology does not recommend MRI scans for people without symptoms, citing a “lack of documented evidence” that the tests are “cost-effective and effective in extending life.”
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Although the Food and Drug Administration has not approved MRI machines for preventive testing, doctors are free to use the machines.
There are examples of image-processing techniques once considered experimental that have since become standard practice, and Prenuvo executives say their approach could follow a similar path.
“The evidence will evolve over time, but patients don’t necessarily want to wait 30 years to see the benefits,” Prenuvo’s Durand said.
When will we know if an MRI scan will be effective?
Experts say the studies needed to prove such benefits would be very large and long-term, following diverse populations for years.
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Prenuvo recently announced plans to test 100,000 people in a long-term health study that isn’t expected to finish until after 2034.
Most people who take part in the PreNuvo study are expected to pay a $2,200 participation fee, but eventually academic and government research may offer opportunities for individuals to take part in such studies at no out-of-pocket cost.
“This is a great area to participate in research studies that could provide you with the information you’re looking for and help you find answers to whether it would be beneficial,” Hawk says. “But it doesn’t make sense to do so outside of research.”
