This group reaffirmed an association between BRAF and disease-specific mortality (5.3 vs 1.1%), though this effect was not independent after adjusting for tumor aggressiveness (lymph node metastasis (LNM), extrathyroidal invasion, and distant metastasis), implying that BRAF’s role may be mediated through downstream pathology (Table 2) (14). This evidence concerns the gene BRAF and metastatic malignant neoplasm in the lymph nodes.