Patterns of Care in Adolescents and Young Adults With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

While children and older adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are treated at pediatric and adult cancer centers respectively, adolescents and young adults (AYAs; 15 to 39 years) represent a unique patient group that can be treated in either setting. According to a recent report evaluating patterns of care, only 32.3% of AYA patients are referred to pediatric settings, with the majority being treated in adult cancer settings, primarily in community practices. However, AYA patients with ALL had better outcomes, including superior overall survival (OS) and leukemia-specific survival (LSS), when treated in pediatric specialty centers or National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated/Children’s Oncology Group (COG) cancer centers vs adult cancer centers. One major difference between pediatric and adult settings is the use of pediatric treatment regimens, with only 24.8% utilization in adult vs 100% in pediatric settings. However, regimen choice alone did not account for the difference in outcomes, as choice of a pediatric vs adult regimen was not a significant predictor of outcomes among AYA patients treated in an adult treatment center. The authors suggest that factors such as minimal residual disease-driven ALL treatment algorithms, clinical trial enrollment, and therapeutic adherence strategies might play a role in the disparity of outcomes between treatment settings. These findings support referral of AYA ALL patients, especially those younger than 25 years of age, to pediatric and NCI-designated/COG cancer centers.

High Altitude: The results of this report highlight an unmet need for better referral processes for AYA with ALL. This underscores the need for sharing best practices for pediatric treatment regimens for ALL with oncologists in centers that treat AYA patients. In the meantime, clinicians in pediatric specialty centers could establish relationships with community oncologists to improve the referral process and ensure that AYA patients receive the most appropriate care.

Ground Level: Pediatric-inspired regimens are considered to be the most effective treatments for AYA patients with ALL. Notably, AYA age limit reaches 39 years, which might surprise general oncologists that do not treat ALL commonly. However, there are additional considerations beyond the regimens themselves that might benefit AYA patients. Therefore, referral of ALL AYA patients, especially those younger than 25 years of age, to pediatric and NCI-designated/COG cancer centers could serve as a bridge to improve outcomes until best practices for care of AYA patients can be captured and integrated into practices treating primarily adult ALL cases.

Matthew Gordon

VP, Real-World Evidence

Matthew has more than 25 years of experience in real-world evidence and observational, non-interventional research. He has led studies across the full life cycle—from startup through publication—supporting objectives that range from understanding a disease’s natural history to fulfilling global safety surveillance requirements. Matthew brings deep expertise in orphan disease programs, having overseen more than 25 long-term, global initiatives, as well as in disease and product registries, prospective pharmacoeconomic studies, and systematic literature reviews. Matthew leads the RWE Registries team, responsible for building the business and team. Prior to joining Aptitude Health, he held senior leadership roles at Parexel, Worldwide Clinical Trials, inVentiv Health Clinical, Quintiles Outcome, and ICON Clinical Research. Matthew holds a BA in sociology from Boston University, is a long-standing member of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR), and is a frequent speaker at ISPOR, the Center for Business Intelligence, and related industry conferences.

Gerald Stanvitch, PhD

VP, Scientific Content

Cate Browning, PhD

VP, Global Medical Affairs

Erin Zingales Rau

VP, Account Services

Kelly Kocor

VP, People & Culture

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Bart Zygmond

VP, Finance

Bart brings a wealth of experience to the organization, having worked in the life sciences, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and service industries. With his expertise in financial reporting, US GAAP, SOX, cash flow modeling, and financial analysis, he plays a crucial role in the company’s financial management and strategy. Prior to joining Aptitude Health as VP, Finance, Bart held several controller positions: at Q2 Solutions, he oversaw the global finance team and financial operations, ensuring the accurate and timely financial reporting of the company. He also held controller positions at Domtar Inc and Veristat.

Eugene Vissers, MD

Senior VP, Global Scientific Content

Eugene is a seasoned medical doctor with over 20 years of international experience in pharma, consultancy, and agency environments. Eugene leads the US team of dedicated experts responsible for developing high-quality medical content. Prior to joining Aptitude Health, Eugene served as medical director at Ipsen and AstraZeneca. With both his medical degree and an MBA, Eugene brings a unique perspective to his role. His clinical background, combined with his business acumen, allows him to develop innovative strategies that drive results. Under Eugene’s leadership, the medical content team delivers scientific information of the highest quality, providing valuable insights to our clients around the world.

Adrian Barfield

VP, US Business Development

Kelley Hernandez

Executive VP, US Business Development

Kelley has over 18 years of experience in the oncology space. Kelley joined Aptitude Health after working with Cardinal Health, where she was part of the Healthcare and Analytics Division, and finished her tenure there with VitalSource™ (GPO division). As the leader of the strategic business development team for the US, Kelley brings a wealth of expertise to the organization. Her experience in the healthcare industry, combined with her ability to identify and capitalize on new business opportunities, is invaluable in driving the company’s growth and success. Kelley’s dedication to building strong relationships with life science partners is a testament to her commitment to delivering exceptional value to the healthcare industry.

Adam Sinensky, MBA

Chief Technology Officer

Adam has over 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry and an MBA in healthcare management. After 10 years as a strategy consultant to life science companies, Adam has spent the last decade as a product and strategy leader focused on bringing technology products to market across the payor, provider, and life sciences segments. By combining his business acumen and experience working directly with software developers, engineers, and data scientists, Adam has successfully led numerous product launches and enhancements from ideation to development and go-to-market initiatives. His product and change management expertise has led organizational shifts from services to technology at companies such as Change Healthcare and Datavant/Ciox. At Aptitude Health, Adam is responsible for growing our portfolio of product offerings by leveraging real-world data and artificial intelligence with our existing solutions and industry-leading Axess Network of healthcare providers. He also oversees our IT and cybersecurity teams.

Stefanie Daniels

Chief Commercial Officer

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Jason Cash

Chief Financial Officer

Jason is an accomplished finance professional with over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical services industry. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a keen ability to navigate high-growth organizations, delivering exceptional results. Before joining Aptitude Health, Jason served as the CFO of Veristat International, a global contract research organization. In this role, he led the financial strategy and played a pivotal role in driving the company’s growth and success. Jason’s wealth of experience and expertise in financial management make him an essential member of the leadership team. His strategic thinking and ability to drive results are highly respected within the industry.

Jez Moulding

Chief Executive Officer

Jez is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of experience in general management and regional president roles. He has a proven track record of success in the healthcare industry, having worked in the US, Japan, Australia, Korea, South Africa, France, and the UK for Sanofi, where he supported the launch of 10 new drugs across various therapeutic areas. As chief commercial officer at UDG Healthcare and EVP at Ashfield, Jez demonstrated his expertise in developing and implementing successful business strategies. He joined Aptitude Health from Pharmaspectra, an IQVIA business, where he served as CEO since 2018. Jez’s extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry and his leadership skills make him an invaluable asset to the organization.

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