heavy smoking mean's kidney cancer but more aggressive.

NEW YORK: Researchers have found that kidney cancer is not only more common among heavy smokers, it also appears to be more aggressive.

According to a study out Monday, more than one in four smokers undergoing kidney cancer surgery had advanced stages of the disease, compared to only one in five patients who didn't light up.

Researchers say about 70 percent of people with early-stage tumors survive at least five years, whereas that number plummets to just eight percent after the cancer has begun spreading.