A study modeling a 100,000-person workforce estimates that whole-body MRI could help detect most cancers and liver disease, and recover much of its cost through lower medical bills and fewer lost workdays
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Prenuvo, the global leader in whole-body MRI screening, today released new research estimating what could potentially happen medically and financially when an employer offers whole-body MRI to its workforce. Conducted in collaboration with the economics consulting firm Analysis Group and presented at ISPOR Europe 2026 in Vienna, the study used a computer model of a hypothetical employer with 100,000 workers to compare standard screening alone with standard screening plus a whole-body MRI over ten years.
Finding disease earlier may also reduce what it costs. Cancer and liver disease are far more costly to treat and are harder on patients when they are found late – up to 75% of patients with severe liver disease are not diagnosed until they reach a late "crisis point" and are admitted to the hospital with advanced cirrhosis/liver failure, while nearly half of all lung cancers are already at a metastatic stage at the time of diagnosis. While today's screening methods typically do one organ at a time, whole-body MRI can look at major organs in a single scan.
"Employers are being asked to weigh the cost of screening against the cost of finding disease late, and until now they haven't had much data to guide that decision," said Dr. Alex Exuzides, VP and Head of Research & Medical Affairs at Prenuvo. "This hypothetical model suggests that who you screen matters. For certain higher-risk groups, projected savings can outweigh screening and diagnostic follow-up costs, and for broader groups, the model projects more people diagnosed earlier. Real-world research will help us test these estimates over time."
For a one-time scan offered to the roughly 30,000 employees age 50 and older in the model, the study estimated:
- Potential for fewer advanced diagnoses. Late-stage diagnoses, meaning stage III or IV cancer or advanced liver scarring (cirrhosis), fell by 25.2% as screening could help identify disease at an earlier stage.
- Estimated more years of life. The group gained an estimated 840 additional years of life over the ten-year period.
- Less advanced liver scarring. The model also looked at fatty liver disease, which can slowly scar the liver over time (cirrhosis). Potentially identifying disease earlier could mean fewer people were diagnosed after the damage had already advanced. Diagnoses of compensated cirrhosis, where the liver is badly scarred but still working well enough that a person may have few or no symptoms, fell from 59 to 4. Diagnoses of decompensated cirrhosis, where the liver can no longer keep up and causes serious complications such as fluid buildup, bleeding, or confusion, fell from 12 to 2.
- Most of the cost came back. Screening and follow-up testing cost more up front, but projected lower disease-related medical bills and fewer lost workdays offset about 90% of that added spending, or roughly 90 cents on every dollar spent.
Who is screened makes a big difference. The model also tested other approaches:
- Higher-risk employees may potentially see the best financial return. A one-time scan for employees 50 and older with obesity and a history of smoking was estimated to return $1.22 for every $1 spent, meaning the savings were larger than the cost.
- Screening everyone helped identify disease, at a lower return. A one-time scan offered to all employees was estimated to help avoid 291 late-stage diagnoses, and projected to recover about 41 cents per dollar spent.
- Scanning more often helped identify disease, at a lower return. Repeating the scan every three years for employees 50 and older was estimated to help avoid 423 late-stage diagnoses, but projected to recover about 40 cents per dollar spent.
These results suggest that employers weighing a screening benefit have real choices to make: broader or more frequent screening can produce greater health gains, while focusing on higher-risk employees can produce the strongest financial return.
"Health systems and employers are being asked to make big decisions about preventive screening with very little economic evidence to guide them. When we modeled this across a full workforce, what stood out was how much the answer depends on who is screened and how often. Putting real numbers behind that tradeoff is essential to any serious conversation about the future of preventive care and how we pay for it," said Dr. Yan Song, Managing Principal at Analysis Group.
The research builds on Prenuvo's broader efforts to advance proactive, preventive medicine through its Prenuvo Research Network, an initiative bringing together Prenuvo's AI tools, internal R&D teams, scientists, and academic institutions to build the evidence base for proactive, preventive medicine. Read the published abstract to learn more.
About the Study
The study, Clinical and Economic Outcomes of Whole-Body MRI Screening: A US Employer Perspective, used a computer simulation to compare two approaches over ten years in a hypothetical US employer with 100,000 workers. The model covered 14 types of solid-tumor cancer, including lung, pancreatic, liver, breast, and bowel cancers, as well as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a common fatty liver condition that can progress to cirrhosis.
About Prenuvo
Prenuvo makes proactive health screening seamless and more widely accessible. Combining high-quality technology with radiation-free and non-invasive imaging assessments, Prenuvo's patient-centric design is optimized to help assess the body holistically, providing individuals with a detailed overview of their health. Prenuvo's exclusively-affiliated Radiology Group Partners consist of 100+ radiologists who help risk-stratify each patient report, keeping in mind healthcare complexities from the patient's perspective, the treating clinician's perspective, and the healthcare system's perspective.
Prenuvo currently operates in 26 clinics across North America, Australia, and Europe. To find your nearest Prenuvo, please visit here. Learn more at www.prenuvo.com.
Media Contact:
Christine Alabastro
media@prenuvo.com
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SOURCE Prenuvo
