Identification and validation of a novel lymph node metastasis-related model for papillary thyroid carcinoma to predict the prognosis

Abstract Background: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is a common malignancy with a good prognosis, but lymph node metastasis (LNM) is associated with a poor prognosis for patients. This study aimed to construct an LNM-related risk model and identify hub genes that could predict the prognosis of PTC. Methods: Gene expression and clinical information were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Cox analysis was used to select hub genes and construct a risk model. The model was validated through receiver