Therefore, a specific inhibitor of the interaction between phosphorylated p62 and KEAP1 would enable KEAP1 to bind and rapidly degrade NRF2; such a drug would be expected to function as an anticancer drug, particularly for cancers such as HCC, in which phosphorylated p62 accumulates and inhibits KEAP1 activity and thereby increases NRF2 activity. This evidence concerns the gene KEAP1 and hepatocellular carcinoma.