**5. Conclusions**

In conclusion, our study evidenced that lymph node metastases display a predictive value for DFI of PTC patients far higher than other clinical, histological, and molecular parameters currently available. Hence, it would be desirable to try to further improve the prediction of the DFI by employing more in-depth analysis of lymph node characteristics, through both instrumental and molecular investigations.

**Author Contributions:** S.S., G.C., F.M.D.M., A.C., D.P. and F.T. collected all the clinical data; E.B., M.W., S.M., F.G., D.T. (Danilo Tarroni), D.T. (Domenico Tripodi) and E.D. created the database; P.F., A.S., C.D.V., E.B., M.W. and S.M. ran the statistical analysis; S.S., A.A., S.U. and E.B. wrote the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
