Methods are provided for treating cancer patients who have elevated expression of FOXC2. In certain aspects, patients having elevated FOXC2 are treated with an anti-cancer therapy in conjunction with a p38 MAPK inhibitor. Methods of identifying cancer patients to be treated with p38 MAPK inhibitors are also provided. Further provided herein are methods for treating and/or preventing breast cancer metastasis by the administration of a p38 MAPK inhibitor. In certain aspects, patients are treated with an anti-cancer therapy in conjunction with a p38 MAPK inhibitor. In addition, methods are provided for the treatment of BCR-ABL positive cancers, such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia, by the administration of a p38 MAPK inhibitor and/or a glucocorticoid inhibitor in combination with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor.
