Can a full-body scan find hidden cancers?
Abstract 7406: Noncontrast screening whole body MRI with diffusion-weighted imaging for multi cancer detection: a retrospective case series study
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Cancer was detected in 2.2% of asymptomatic people—higher than expected in a general population without risk factors.
Most people assume cancer screening only works for high-risk groups or those with symptoms—but here, even healthy, non-symptomatic adults had a detection rate comparable to some targeted screenings.
Practical Takeaways
If you’re considering a full-body MRI for peace of mind, ask your doctor if it’s covered and whether they’ll help interpret follow-up findings.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Cancer was detected in 2.2% of asymptomatic people—higher than expected in a general population without risk factors.
Most people assume cancer screening only works for high-risk groups or those with symptoms—but here, even healthy, non-symptomatic adults had a detection rate comparable to some targeted screenings.
Practical Takeaways
If you’re considering a full-body MRI for peace of mind, ask your doctor if it’s covered and whether they’ll help interpret follow-up findings.
Publication
Journal
Cancer Research
Year
2025
Authors
Candace Westgate, Rebecca Nayeri, Madhurima Datta, Jeffrey M. Venstrom, R. Pompa, Pratik Shingru, Saqib Basar, Sam Hashemi, Y. Chodakiewitz
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Claims (6)
Using a full-body MRI scan might help find cancers in body parts where doctors don’t normally screen people, like without a regular test.
When people got a full-body MRI scan and then had a biopsy done just to check if something was wrong, more than half of them turned out to have cancer — so the biopsy seems to be a good way to find real cancer cases in this group.
When doctors didn’t have a regular test to check for cancer, a special full-body MRI scan found cancer in nearly 7 out of 10 people—so it might help catch cancers that other tests miss.
When doctors scanned healthy adults with a full-body MRI just to check for problems, most of the cancers they found were in people who didn’t have any symptoms—meaning the scan caught cancers before people even felt sick.
A special type of full-body MRI scan found cancer in 2.2% of healthy or slightly symptomatic adults between 35 and 79, and even more often in people over 65 — suggesting it might catch cancers that regular screenings usually miss.