Macrometastasis in Papillary Thyroid Cancer Patients is Associated with Higher Recurrence in Lateral Neck Nodes

Background The use of routine central compartment neck dissection surgery for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is controversial. Although macroscopic central neck lymph node metastasis (CNLN) in PTC is a poor prognostic factor correlated with increased loco-regional recurrence, the significance of microscopic metastasis to the central lymph nodes is not established. Herein, we aimed to assess the influence of the size of CNLN on disease recurrence among PTC patients.