Background and purpose: The incidence of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) is increasing

and the overall prognosis is good. However

there is controversy in clinical diagnosis and treatment of the disease. In this study

we summarized the clinical characteristics and risk factors of PTMC by analyzing the data of patients in order to guide clinical precision treatment. Methods: We performed retrospective analysis of clinical and pathological data of patients with PTMC who underwent surgery from Jan. 2015 to Dec. 2017 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College. Results: Of the 228 patients

109 had central lymph node and/or lateral cervical lymph node metastasis (47.81%). Univariate analysis showed that gender

age

maximum tumor diameter and number of primary tumors were associated with cervical lymph node metastasis (all P value 0.05 ). Multivariate logistic analysis showed that male patient

less than 45 years of age

tumor maximum diameter ˃4 mm and multi-center lesion were independent risk factors for cervical lymph node metastasis of PTMC (all P value 0.05 ). Conclusion: Although PTMC is small

it does not indicate lower risk of lymph node metastasis

particularly patient who is male

younger than 45 years

whose tumor maximum diameter ˃4 mm or who has multi-center lesion should be actively involved in surgical intervention.