Superiority of metastatic lymph node ratio over number of node metastases and TNM/AJCC N classification in predicting cancer-specific survival in medullary thyroid cancer.

In MTC, MLNR, reflecting intensity of lymphatic spread, predicts cancer-specific survival better than number of node metastases or TNM/AJCC N classification. The applicability of these findings to patients with limited neck dissection requires more research.