Occult thyroid malignancy with nodal metastasis is seen in -

A small percentage of cancers present with enlarged lymph nodes in the jugular chain or pulmonary metastases with no palpable abnormality of the thyroid. The primary tumor may be no more than a few millimetres in size and is termed occult. Such primary foci of papillary carcinoma may also be discovered in thyroid tissue resected for other reasons. The term occult was formally applied to all papillary carcinomas less than 1.5 cm in diameter but the preferred terminology now is microcarcinoma for cancers less than 1 cm in diameter. These have an excellent prognosis although those presenting with nodal or distant metastases justify more aggressive therapy". - Love & Bailey