Risk factors of lymph node metastasis in the diffuse sclerosing variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma compared with conventional papillary thyroid carcinoma in pediatric populations

DSV-PTC presents unique characteristics of lymph node metastasis and may be more aggressive than conventional PTC in pediatric populations. The presence of CLNM, tumor size and ETE were identified as independent predictors of LLNM in pediatric patients with conventional PTC. Evaluating these prognostic factors may help in customizing individualized surgical approaches for children, thereby reducing unnecessary surgical complications.