Trends of the prevalence rate of central lymph node metastasis and multifocality in patients with low-risk papillary thyroid carcinoma after delayed thyroid surgery

Active surveillance has been an option for patients with low-risk papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). However, whether delayed surgery leads to an increased risk of local tumor metastasis remain unclear. We sought to investigate the impact of observation time on central lymph node metastasis (CLNM) and multifocal disease in patients with low-risk PTC.