Could the most common kind of cancer -- basal cell skin cancer -- be defeated by a chemical in the common corn lily plant? Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) think it’s possible.It’s a David-and-Goliath-sized matchup. In one corner: basal cell skin cancer, the most common kind of cancer in humans, affecting an estimated 800,000 Americans per year.The challenger: a compound called cyclopamine, found in the corn lily, a humble, weed-like plant that grows in mountain meadows in the Western U.S.
