This finding, along with that of Hwang et al., that the hypermethylation of HOXA9 was associated with the disease recurrence of early-stage NSCLC, may serve to guide further trials of implementing hypermethylation in HOXA9 detection in blood-based assays for minimally invasive screening and monitoring programs. The gene discussed is HOXA9; the disease is non-small cell lung carcinoma.