Brain tumor found during preventive scan puts full-body MRIs back in the spotlight
“MRI technology allows for a comprehensive, non-invasive examination of the body to detect a wide range of conditions, including cancer and vascular malformations like aneurysms, without the need for potentially harmful radiation, as is the case with CT scans,” he also said.
Durand claimed that a Prenuvo scan can detect many diseases based on changes to the inside of the body that can be detected by MRI.
“MRI technology allows for a comprehensive, non-invasive examination of the body to detect a wide range of conditions, including cancer and vascular malformations like aneurysms, without the need for potentially harmful X-rays, as is the case with CT scans,” one neurosurgeon said. (iStock)
“Usually these changes happen before symptoms occur or before there are signs on a physical exam,” he told Fox News Digital.
“So, in many cases, the earliest signs of diseases — like cancers, infections or aneurysms — will be seen,” he went on. “By seeing them earlier, you can be treated earlier, hopefully before the disease has done little to no permanent damage.”
Doctors share concerns
Dr. Mike told Fox News Digital that he has not recommended that any of his patients get an MRI screening scan.
“The high upfront cost and lack of clear medical indication for broad screening (if you’re low-risk and asymptomatic) lead me to agree with the major medical organizations that routine whole-body MRI screening for the general population is not recommended,” he said.
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Much of the popularity of these scans has been driven by celebrities, who sometimes receive them for free, Dr. Mike said — which he finds concerning.
“My understanding is that even receiving a free scan is a business relationship that the FTC requires disclosing,” he said. “My understanding is that the companies themselves cannot claim their tests save lives, so they work with celebs who can make personal claims that are not subject to the same investigational scrutiny.”
“With the current level of technology, I am against full-body scans in favor of more directed workups initiated by expert physicians who know what they are looking for,” one doctor told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“This also sends a conflicting message to the consumer and creates confusion.”
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News’ senior medical analyst, also does not recommend these scans to patients.
“With the current level of technology, I am against full-body scans in favor of more directed workups initiated by expert physicians who know what they are looking for,” he has told Fox News Digital.
“If you do a full-body scan, you will be inclined to pursue every positive finding, whether they are really significant or not.”
Research published in 2020 found that imaging abnormalities are expected in about 95% of screened subjects, according to the doctor.
“This means the majority of those scanned will have some sort of finding presented to them,” he said. “I can’t imagine how helpful that would be to someone already prone to health worries.”
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During a 2025 podcast interview with Dr. Mike, Andrew Lacy, CEO of Prenuvo, said that long-term data on these screening scans is not yet available.
“So, currently, we don’t know if we are saving more people by catching disease early or harming more people with overdiagnosis, false positives and overtreatment,” Dr. Mike said.
“Before having a CT screening procedure, carefully investigate and consider the potential risks and benefits and discuss them with your physician,” the FDA advised. (iStock)
“Barring emergencies, if I don’t have clear data about the harms and benefits of an intervention, especially one that is meant to be used on healthy people, I cannot widely recommend it.”
Prenuvo did cite a recent study of over 1,000 patients who were followed over a one-year period.
“In this sample, we found pathologically-proven cancer in 2.2% of Prenuvo patients,” Durand told Fox News Digital. “Importantly, most of these cancers were early stage, and the majority were cancer types for which there is no widely accepted screening exam.”
Guidelines of health agencies
The most recent guidance from the FDA echoes the doctors’ concerns.
“At this time, the FDA knows of no scientific evidence demonstrating that whole-body scanning of individuals without symptoms provides more benefit than harm to people being screened,” the agency stated on its website.
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The FDA also warned about the “relatively high radiation exposure” from CT scans. While this exposure risk is “greatly outweighed” by the benefits of diagnostic and therapeutic scans, the agency said that for whole-body screening of asymptomatic people, “the benefits are questionable.”
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“Before having a CT screening procedure, carefully investigate and consider the potential risks and benefits and discuss them with your physician,” the FDA advised.
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) also recommends against full-body scans for early tumor detection in asymptomatic patients.
Melissa Rudy is senior health editor and a member of the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to melissa.rudy@fox.com.
Article source: https://www.foxnews.com/health/brain-tumor-found-during-preventive-scan-puts-full-body-mris-back-spotlight