Iceland screens, treats, or prevents multiple myeloma (iStopMM) study

The largest scientific study ever conducted in Iceland

All individuals living in Iceland, born in 1975 or earlier, were invited to participate

offered participation
147000
participated
79000
blood samples collected
74000

"The key to a successful screening study is a high participation rate. With the phenomenal support of the population of Iceland, iStopMM will generate knowledge not available anywhere else."

– Sigurður Yngvi Kristinsson, Principal Investigator

Milestones of the iStopMM study

2016
November 2016
The iStopMM study launches

The iStopMM study invites everyone born in 1975 or earlier to take part in one of the most extensive scientific studies ever conducted in Iceland.

December 2016
50,000 Icelanders registered to participate

In the first month of the study, more than 50,000 Icelanders signed up to participate.

March 2017
CNN with Dr. Sanjay Gupta profiles the iStopMM project

CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and his team traveled to Iceland to explore the country’s innovative medical projects.

2017
December 2017
Registration ends

Registration for the study ends, with a total of 80,759 registrations, which is equivalent to a 54% participation rate, a unique achievement worldwide.

April 2017
iStopMM Clinic opens

iStopMM Clinic opens and the first participant starts follow-up in the screening study.

2018
March 2018
The Promotional Campaign for the iStopMM Study gets an award

The Promotional Campaign for iStopMM gets an award from The Icelandic Association of Marketers.

June 2018
Dr. Sigurdur Yngvi Kristinsson receives an international award

Dr. Sigurdur Yngvi Kristinsson, Professor at the University of Iceland and the study’s principal investigator receives the Brian G.M. Durie Outstanding Achievement Award for outstanding research in the field of multiple myeloma.

2019
August 2019
First participants included in the early treatment trial

First participants starts iStopMM treatment trial.

2020
December 2020
Blood sample collection ends

Blood sample collection phase ends with total of 75,422 blood samples being received for screening.

2021
May 2021
First scientific article published

The first scientific article published in the Blood Cancer Journal. In this first paper from the iStopMM trial, the methodology and the recruitment phase of the study was described in detail. The paper introduces the study to the scientific community and shows that the particiation rate is high enabling the study to reach its goals.

August 2021
First participants finish early intervention trial

First participants in the treatment trial finish treatment.

December 2021
iStopMM presenting at ASH 2021

iStopMM presents four oral abstracts and two posters at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in Atlanta.

December 2021
New study from iStopMM in the Blood Cancer Journal

MGUS has been associated with immune system dysfunction and risk of infection and it has been speculated that individuals with MGUS may have increased risks from COVID-19. This study is the largest study on the issue to date and shows that MGUS does not increase the risk of contracting COVID-19 and dose not affect outcomes in COVID-19. These unexpected results reflect how iStopMM can change how we view multiple myeloma and its precursors.

December 2021
Article in the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health published

Many of the planned studies from the iStopMM project use data on chronic disease diagnoses in the Icelandic healthcare registries. In this paper the accuracy of these diagnoses was assessed. The accuracy varied somewhat between diseases but the overall accuracy was estimated at 98.5% which is very high.

February 2022
Article in the Journal of Internal Medicine

An article published in the Journal of Internal Medicine based on iStopMM data shows that the effects of Covid 19 and concomitant societal restrictions did not have a negative impact on population mental health.

September 2022
New reference intervals for FLC in kidney disease

An article based on iStopMM data shows that previous reference intervals for serum free light chains (FLC) and the FLC ratio are inaccurate in individuals with kidney disease. The paper proposes new reference intervals for FLC and FLC ratio based on kidney function that changes the definition of light chain MGUS in individuals with kidney disease.

News

Sæmundur Rögnvaldsson MD, PhD

Sæmundur Rögnvaldsson a long-time member of the iStopMM core team defended his doctoral thesis Monoclonal gammopathy of what significance? Overcoming the methodological limitations of studying

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