This invention relates, e.g., to a method for detecting the presence of lymph node metastases in a subject having papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), comprising measuring in a sample from the subject the amount of expression (e.g., the amount of protein, or the amount of mRNA encoding the protein) of one or more of the following proteins: (a) LIMD2, and/or (b) PTPRC, and/or (c) LTB, and/or (d) CD48, and/or (e) ABCC3, wherein a significant amount of over-expression of one or more of protein(s) (a)-(e), compared to the baseline value, indicates that lymph node metastases are likely to be present in the subject.