Kha et al have recently discovered that Nrf2 activation protects premalignant pancreatic ductal epithelial (PDE) cells from apoptosis and accelerates the formation and growth of pancreatic tumors by inducing the expression of a splicing variant of ATF3 (activating transcription factor 3), termed ΔZip2 [96]. Here, ATF3 is linked to pancreatic neoplasm.