Methods for identifying and treating cancer patients likely to respond to topoisomerase inhibitors or likely to fail to respond to topoisomerase inhibitors are provided. The methods take advantage of the newly discovered role of BAF complexes in decatenation of DNA by topoisomerase IIa. Cancer cells are frequently at least partly defective in BAF complex activity. Such cells are targeted for therapy using certain topoisomerase IIa inhibitors according to the disclosed methods of treatment. Therapy of such cells using other topoisomerase inhibitors should be avoided.