The success of cancer treatment increases the earlier you catch the disease.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an accurate, sensitive type of medical imaging that can detect cancer in up to 14 organs.
Here’s an overview of the different types of cancer an ezra full-body scan could detect:
A full-body MRI can help detect brain tumors and different cancer variations. Recent research has found that MRI, paired with artificial intelligence (AI) image analysis, can help radiologists differentiate between normal and abnormal brain tissue and identify brain cancer that has metastasized.
Rarely, cancer can occur in the bones, tissues, or nerves of the spinal cord. An MRI of the whole spine can help diagnose spinal tumors. A full-body MRI scan for cancer can show detailed images of the spinal column and surrounding region.
An MRI scan screening for cancer can help tell the difference between benign and malignant lesions. If there is cancer, a whole-body MRI can help determine how aggressive the thyroid tumor is.
Recommended reading: What Can a Thyroid MRI Help With? Plus Other Thyroid Evaluations
MRI is not commonly used to detect lung cancer. However, the full-body ezra scan could include a low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) of the lungs for high-risk individuals.
If deemed appropriate by your ezra Medical Provider, this can be added at an additional cost.
MRI scans can help doctors determine whether tumors on the liver are benign or malignant (cancerous). Blood vessels in and around the liver can be examined with the help of liver MRI scans to see if cancer has spread.
Besides developing stones, the gallbladder is also vulnerable to some types of cancer. Research has found that MRI is better than CT for diagnosing gallbladder carcinoma specifically.
Recommended reading: How — and Why — an MRI of the Gallbladder May Help Catch Early Cancer
Signs and symptoms of cancer on the pancreas often do not occur until the disease has advanced. Full-body MRI can help detect pancreatic cancer better than other imaging modalities, which may lead to earlier diagnosis.
Learn more about what an MRI of the pancreas can detect.
The spleen may develop cancers like sarcoma and lymphoma, or cancers metastasized from elsewhere in the body.
An MRI of the spleen can help diagnose, evaluate, and characterize different types of lesions and other conditions on the spleen.
For kidney cancer, MRI scans of the kidneys can not only detect tumors, but also help doctors determine the stage of disease, potentially leading to better treatment decisions.
When paired with a technique known as chemical shift imaging, an MRI of the adrenal glands is better than CT at differentiating between adrenocortical adenomas and other lesions on the adrenal glands.
Urine cytology, commonly used to screen for bladder cancer, has a very low sensitivity for finding bladder cancer.
In comparison, MRI shows much higher sensitivity and specificity in both detecting and staging bladder tumors.
Health providers may detect ovarian cancer with a blood test for the protein CA-125 (cancer antigen 125). However, this test has a high rate of false positives. In comparison, diffusion weighted MRI is much more capable of detecting ovarian cancer.
Several types of scans can detect uterine cancer, also known as endometrial cancer. However, research shows that an MRI of the uterus performs better than CT for evaluating the extent of endometrial tumors.
In men at risk of prostate cancer or who are showing symptoms, MRI can help rule out prostate cancer. This could help men avoid unnecessary biopsies.
Ready for a safe, fast, full-body scan to help detect cancer?
Your ezra clinician will take you through your easy-to-interpret ezra report, and actionable next steps. Book your ezra scan today.
