Distribution of lymph node micrometastasis in pN0 well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma.

Background: The role of lymph node dissection in the treatment of differentiated thyroid carcinoma remains controversial, and the benefit of therapy is debatable. This study was designed to identify the precise localization of lymph node micrometastases (LNMM) and map their cervical involvement in relation with the tumor location within the thyroid gland.

Methods: A total of 2551 cervical lymph nodes were obtained from 80 patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer.