Less neck surgery may be just as safe for some thyroid cancers

This study tests whether a smaller, more targeted neck surgery (selective neck dissection) works as well as the standard larger surgery (modified neck dissection) for people with papillary thyroid cancer that has spread to only 1 or 2 small lymph nodes in the side of the neck. About 250 participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two surgeries. The main goal is to see if the smaller surgery can keep cancer from coming back while also improving quality of life.