Biomarkers in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells for Diagnosing or Detecting Lung Cancers

A method for monitoring or detecting lung disease in a subject who has undergone surgical resection of a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumor tissue comprising:

• (a) obtaining a first biological sample from the subject before surgical resection of NSCLC tumor tissue;
• (b) obtaining a second biological sample from the subject after surgical resection of NSCLC tumor tissue;
• (c) measuring the expression of level of one more miRNAs selected from the group consisting of miR-let-7c, miR-34a, hsa-miR-202*, and miR-769-5p, and miR-642 in said first and second samples;
• and
• (d) identifying a patient who has undergone successful tumor resection where the miRNA level is reduced in said second sample relative to said first sample,
• wherein said first and second biological samples are selected from whole blood, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, plasma, and serum.