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An ecosystems model of the phenomenon of drug use-abuse is presented, based on the premise of a complex of interrelated variables relative to a drug's use, and that the differential evaluation of these variables within a total system determines use or abuse. A research proposal attempts to operationalize the parameters in this theoretical model and to evaluate the interaction between several personality and environmental variables leading to marijuana use or abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an analysis of the results of cancer therapy, based on the histories of treated and untreated cancers taking into account the biology of immunity and drug action. The administration of cancer chemotherapeutic drugs (CCD) or irradiation produces remission in certain cases of cancer. It is generally believed that these remissions are due to the direct action of the treatment on the tumor cells. Reasons for the acceptance of this opinion are its simplicity and its analogy with antibiotics. CCD have diverse actions and there are many ways in which these drugs could act on, or in association with, the immune system to affect the tumor.

It has long been contended that the upper class receives more personalized care than the lower class and this constitutes superior care. It is also known that for cancer, specialized care obtained as quickly as possible, is essential for recovery. The findings of this study indicate that upper-class patients are treated longer by their physicians than lower-class patients, regardless of the type of practitioner used or the period the patient delayed. However, since "optimal" medical care for cancer is associated with obtaining specialized care-not personalized care-upper-class persons may not, contrary to common belief, be receiving the most effective medical care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the interrelationships between molecular biology and cancer chemotherapy. It talks about the need for more effective drugs and the challenge to find means for effective prevention, detection and treatment of cancer. The presence of drug receptors in cancer cells and the ability of drugs acting upon quantitative metabolic differences to kill cancer cells are discussed. The article also discusses the use of drugs as probes for metabolic dissection and the applications of anticancer drugs to other fields of biology.

The article offers information on a new method used to probe the interior of the nucleus of living human lymphocytes, reported by John H. Frenster from Stanford University School of Medicine. It is said that the method employs a chemical that interacts with the DNA in cells, in which interaction can be visualize by an electron microscopy. Frenster said that the method has revealed the control points for lymphocyte activity, localized to the central area of the cell nucleus. He said that it would be possible to increase lymphocyte activity against cancer cells, or to decrease lymphocyte activity against transplants in patients. It is cited that Frenster's work was supported by the National Cancer Institute and the Leukemia Society of America.