Described herein are methods for treating breast cancer and for providing a prognosis for metastatic-free survival of breast cancer patients. Aspects relate to treating a patient determined to be at high risk for developing or having metastatic breast cancer comprising administering adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapy to the patient determined to be at high risk for developing or having metastatic breast cancer, wherein the patient was determined to be at high risk for developing or having metastatic breast cancer by determining that the expression level of RKIP was reduced and/or the expression level of one or more of HMGA2, CCL5, TN-FR2, GRN, and CCL7 was elevated in a biological sample from the patient compared to a control non-metastatic tissue sample.