Cashed-up patients are buying the hype around elective whole-body MRIs, paying thousands of dollars in the hopes of detecting very early–stage cancers or organ diseases while asymptomatic.

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) is warning that the scans lack evidence, provide less detail than targeted MRIs and burden the public system as patients seek follow-up for harmless “incidentalomas”.

“This is driven by commercial interests and marketing, not clinical need,” RANZCR president Clinical Professor John Slavotinek told AusDoc.

It has not deterred the clinics involved, including the GP-founded Everlab in Melbourne.