Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 14, 2026
Comparison of Predictive Performance of Three Lymph Node Staging Systems in Colorectal Signet Ring Cell Carcinoma Based on Machine Learning Model
Published on: April 18, 2025
Machine learning-based prediction of lymph node metastasis in papillary thyroid carcinoma: an interpretable
Xiaoqing Yuan1,2, Yahui Wu3, Yixiang Xing1,2
1Department of Pathology, Tongling People's Hospital, Tongling, Anhui, China.
Background:
Lymph node metastasis (LNM) is a prevalent feature in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) that significantly influences surgical management and prognosis. Accurate identification of LNM risk is essential for optimizing adjuvant therapy and long-term surveillance strategies in clinical practice.
Methods:
This retrospective study analyzed 232 patients who underwent thyroidectomy. We employed LASSO regression to select six predictive features from a comprehensive covariate panel. Subsequently, seven machine learning algorithms were trained and evaluated via grid search and 5-fold cross-validation. The optimal model was interpreted using SHAP analysis to elucidate feature contributions.
Results:
LASSO-based feature selection retained six predictive features: BRAF mutation status, tumor size, capsular invasion, extrathyroidal extension, multifocality, and TSH. Among the seven algorithms, the Support Vector Machine (SVM) model showed the most favorable validation performance, achieving an AUC of 0.849 (95% CI, 0.756-0.934) and an accuracy of 0.768 in the validation cohort. SHAP analysis identified TSH and tumor size as the most influential contributors to model predictions, enabling transparent and individualized LNM risk stratification.
Conclusion:
The SVM-based model demonstrated favorable internal validation performance and provided an interpretable framework for individualized LNM risk stratification in patients with PTC. Further prospective multicenter validation is required before routine clinical implementation.
