how would you be able to tell wether cells of the lungs have been transformed into cancer?

Question: how would you be able to tell wether cells of the lungs have been transformed into cancer?
- Keywords:
  cancer cells,
  image,
  lungs
Asked by to John, Del, Catherine, Mo Rassul on 17 Mar 2014. This question was also asked by , , , , princesscadance.
- John Foster answered on 17 Mar 2014:
  
  Hi,
  This is a very good question and one that scientists like myself are working on! Doctors and scientists know what the normal lung tissue looks like under a microscope, and how different stains colour the cells. They can remove a piece of the tumour by a biopsy and compare it to normal healthy lung tissue. The cells will look very different. Also there are things which cancer cells have that normal cells do not, these are called “biomarkers” and are often unique to each cancer. We can test for these in samples of lung cancer tissue. However, we are always looking for biomarkers that show earlier signs of lung cancer so that we can diagnose it for treatment earlier.

Question: how would you be able to tell wether cells of the lungs have been transformed into cancer?