Construction and application of a nomogram model for early stage central lymph node metastasis in papillary thyroid...

This study aimed to explore the construction and application of a nomogram model for early-stage cervical central lymph node metastasis (CLNM) in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) combined with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT). The study included 360 patients with pathologically diagnosed PTC. Of these, 100 patients had PTC with concurrent HT. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify risk factors for CLNM in patients with PTC and HT. A nomogram was designed to guide clinical decision-making. Age, gender, thyroid peroxidase antibody status, tumor diameter, tumor location, multifocal lesions, capsular invasion, calcification, aspect ratio ≥1, irregular morphology, and tumor diameter ≥1 cm strongly correlated with CLNM in patients with PTC combined with HT. Notably, capsular invasion, aspect ratio ≥1, calcification, and irregular morphology were risk factors for CLNM in patients with PTC combined with HT. A nomogram was constructed to visualize and graphically calculate the probability of CLNM development in these patients. Our findings indicated that the independent risk factors for CLNM development in patients with PTC combined with HT are capsular invasion, aspect ratio ≥1, calcification, and irregular morphology. The nomogram model developed in this study has great potential for clinical applications.