Questions surround effectiveness of increasingly popular Prenuvo full-body MRI scans
A Bay Area start-up is behind a testing procedure endorsed by social media influencers like Kim Kardashian that that is rapidly gaining popularity, despite warnings from leading medical experts of possible negative consequences.
Prenuvo offers a full-body MRI scan the company claims can detect more than 500 conditions including cancerous tumors at an early stage.
There's a rapid expansion of its clinics across the state and country, but leading medical experts warn those who sign up for the scans could face negative outcomes.
The whole-body MRI scan at a Prenuvo clinic now takes less than an hour. Dr. Sefi Chodakiewitz works as a radiologist for the company.
"I wouldn't say most patients are expecting to encounter anything concerning, but it's something we can offer; a benefit by detecting an early sign of concerning disease before it has a chance to lead to more significant problems down the line," explained Chodakiewitz.
Kim Kardashian is just one influencers who has touted Prenuvo a potentially life-saving technology. The company notes it does not pay anyone to promote its products, but does offer free scans to influencers.
However, CBS News Bay Area spoke with one San Francisco radiology specialist who cautioned against putting much credence in such scans.
"It's led to a lot of misinformation and belief that somehow this test can help you live longer or better. There's not a stitch of evidence it will do either of those things," said Dr. Rebecca Smith-Bindman, director of the Radiology Outcomes Research Laboratory at the University of California San Francisco.
"I've spent much of my career studying potential harms of tests like this, and they're not harmless," warned Smith-Bindman.
The radiologist is concerned about incorrect early detection of cancers that might result in unnecessary surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.
"There absolutely could be tremendous numbers of false positives, signals to patients who have nothing wrong with them, but where they go on a downstream path of many more tests and procedures and even treatment for cancer that wasn't going to be symptomatic. That's absolutely demonstrated," said Smith-Bindman.
But founder and CEO of Prenuvo Andrew Lacy sees these "false positives" very differently.
"Every time you visit a physician and describe symptoms like abdominal pain, and they tell you maybe just modify your diet, when in fact you might have colon cancer or something else. That's a false positive," said Lacy.
Lacy gets scanned once a year and says it's given him "peace of mind." A whole body scan costs $2,500 out of pocket.
"These machines we use at Prenuvo are tremendously advanced. We believe they enable us to distinguish between benign findings you don't need to worry about and things that really are concerning," said Lacy.
Smith-Bindman says a double-blind study is needed to corroborate what Pernuvo is promising.
"People have a very misguided understanding this is a panacea, like a fountain of youth and it's just not," said Smith-Bindman.
"We're really shifting this perspective from reactive to proactive care," said Chodakiewitz.
Lacy believes AI advancements in the radiology process will make the scans more efficient and bring down costs to about $500, creating a path for the test he believes to be covered by insurance.
The company now has 14 locations across the country after its first clinic opened in Redwood City in 2020. More than a dozen more are under construction, according to Lacy.