Abstract: Provided herein are, inter alia, methods of detecting levels of miR-221 and beclin-1 in patients undergoing treatment for miR-221- and/or beclin-1-associated diseases (e.g., cancer, inflammatory disease, infectious disease, autoimmune disease, cardiovascular disease). The methods provided herein are useful, inter alia, to monitor and determine treatment efficacy by determining (detecting) levels of miR-221, beclin-1, a combination thereof or of molecules downstream of the miR-221 or beclin-1 signaling pathways, in patients receiving, having received or to be received MDA-7 treatment.