Factors associated with occult lateral lymph node metastases in patients with clinically lymph node negative papillary thyroid carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

It remains unclear which category of patients with clinically lymph node negative (cN0) papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) might have higher risk of occult lateral lymph node metastasis (OLLNM) due to the conflicting results in previous studies. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate factors associated with OLLNM in patients with cN0 PTC.