Biomarkers and methods for diagnosis of early stage pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

A method of diagnosing and treating early stage pancreatic ductal adenoncarcinoma (PDAC) in an individual, the method comprising:

• obtaining a serum or plasma sample from an individual;
• detecting an elevated protein level of basigin and soluble hyaluronic acid (HA) in the serum or plasma sample when compared to a reference sample, thereby diagnosing the individual with early stage PDAC, wherein the detecting of the elevated protein levels of basigin and HA is performed using a capture agent or an immunoassay, wherein said capture agent is selected from the group consisting of and antibody, antibody fragment, nucleic acid-based protein binding reagent, small molecule or variant thereof, wherein said immunoassay is an enzyme immunoassay (EIA), an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), or a radioimmunoassay (RIA);
• and
• administering a therapy selected from the group consisting of prophylactic anticoagulants, resection, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and chemoradiation to the individual with early stage PDAC.