iStopMM: Early findings of a nation-wide screening study for multiple myeloma

BMC Seminar Thursday 16 January, 12:00 in Læknagarður, Vatnsmýrarvegur 16, room 343

Speakers: Sigrún Þorsteinsdóttir MD PhD (Postdoc) and Sæmundur Rögnvaldsson MD (PhD student), The iStopMM research team of Prof. Sigurður Yngvi Kristinsson, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland

Title: iStopMM: Early findings of a nation-wide screening study for multiple myeloma

Abstract: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignancy of bone marrow plasma cells that has, until recently, been considered incurable. MM is preceded by an asymptomatic premalignant state. Recently, survival in MM has improved dramatically due to the introduction of new therapies and studies have shown that by providing treatment at a high-risk but asymptomatic precursor stage, outcomes can be improved even further, possibly leading to a cure. However, more than 95% of MM patients are diagnosed at a far more advanced stage and cannot be provided with such early treatment. The iStopMM study (Iceland Screens Treats or Prevents Multiple Myeloma) aims to close this gap of detection by population-based screening and follow-up in a large clinical trial, evaluating the benefits and harms of screening and early treatment, while building an extensive biobank and dataset on MM and related disorders. With over 80,000 Icelanders registered to participate and around 65,000 blood samples already sent for screening, and over 1,000 bone marrow samples collected, the study is one of the largest interventional studies ever performed.