Controversial full-body MRIs are expanding in Central Ohio
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Depending on who you ask, a full-body MRI is either an early-detection breakthrough or an unnecessary procedure that harms more than helps.
Why it matters: The scans have become popular in part due to wellness influencers, celebrity endorsements and a distrust of conventional medicine, and more MRI companies plan openings in Columbus.
Zoom in: Columbus already has centers like ProScan Imaging and Craft Body Scan, and international wellness companies like Prenuvo and Ezra have Central Ohio locations on the way.
By the numbers: Prenuvo has completed 50,000 scans since December and 150,000 total since 2018, CEO Andrew Lacy tells Axios.
What they found: Prenuvo scans spotted cancer in 2.2% of mostly asymptomatic patients, according to an ongoing study conducted by the MRI company and presented at an American Association for Cancer Research conference in April.
- In the study, which included 1,011 patients in Canada in the early findings, roughly half of the biopsies prompted by scan findings turned out to reveal cancer.
Yes, but: Just because a scan detected cancer, that doesn't mean the cancer was aggressive or that the detection extended someone's lifespan.
- In the study, two breast cancer cases were not detected by a whole-body MRI.
Between the lines: The Ohio State University associate professor of radiology Mina Makary has researched and written about the topic extensively. He says the biggest issue with these scans is a lack of specificity.
- "No two MRIs are the same," he tells Axios. "The type of images we acquire during an MRI are tailored to the organ we're scanning and the disease we're looking for."
- Full-body scans are also likely filled with "incidental findings" that might otherwise never affect your life but could cause stress for everyone involved.
- "There's anxiety for the patient, cost to the patient and to the health care system, and the tests we do to figure things out add their own risks and complications," Makary says.
What they're saying: Full-body scans are "the bane of my existence," says oncologist Marleen Meyers, director of NYU Langone's survivorship program at the Perlmutter Cancer Center.
- She says that most findings from full-body MRIs are false positives or benign, but "the knowledge, the stress and fact you start treatment then upends your life."
- "Studies with these scans so far have not shown any improved survival," she tells Axios.
The other side: Collecting enough data to provide evidence that the tests improve survival would probably take decades, says Lacy.
Reality check: A full-body MRI — which can cost $499 to $4,500 — isn't accessible for everyone.
- Meyers recommends that patients with a known cancer history or specific symptoms get directed screenings instead of full-body scans.