In concert with other findings documented herein, we posit that altered lnc-IL7R expression may be a diagnostically valuable indicator of altered pulmonary function, and a clinically feasible, readily accessible, and relatively cheap surrogate biomarker of preventable and treatable COPD, which is usually insidious and associated with an aberrant inflammatory response of the lungs to noxious particulate matters or gases. The gene discussed is IL7R; the disease is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.