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Nerves play a critical role in stomach cancer growth, according to a new study. The study further found that blocking nerve signals using surgery or Botox could be an effective treatment for the disease. 

"Scientists have long observed that human and mouse cancers contain a lot of nerves in and around the tumor cells," said Dr. Wang, the Dorothy L. and Daniel H. Silberberg Professor of Medicine at Columbia's Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, in the press release. "We wanted to understand more about the role of nerves in the initiation and growth of cancer, by focusing on stomach cancer."

Stomach cancer is the fourth-leading type of cancer. It is the second-highest contributor to cancer mortality worldwide, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 25 percent. 

Researchers using three different mouse models of stomach cancer found that when they performed a procedure called a vagotomy to cut the nerves, the surgery remarkably slowed the tumor growth, increasing survival rates. 

"In the future, we'd really like to look at how we can use this method of targeting nerves to stop the growth of more advanced tumors," Dr. Wang said.

The study is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.