NFE2L2 and cancer: They conclude and rationalise by suggesting that the effect of Nrf2 activation is largely related to the biological time context, stating that Nrf2 activity is desirable (for the host organism) in early stages of tumourigenesis, when the host is seeking to control premalignant carcinogenesis, but is undesirable in later stages of tumourigenesis, when it could make fully malignant cancer cells become resistant to treatment.