Fig. 1

Flowchart of HCC patient selection for epidemiological analysis and post-sorafenib follow-up analysis. Subgroup #1: patients still alive at the end of the observation period but with fewer than 70 observation days from the last sorafenib prescription; Subgroup #2: patients who died while on sorafenib therapy; Subgroup #3: patients who died within the observation period but not under sorafenib therapy (i.e. more than 70 days between the last sorafenib prescription and death); Subgroup #4: patients who were still alive at the end of the observation period and for whom at least 70 days had passed between the last prescription of sorafenib and the end of the observation period. ^aPatients alive after sorafenib therapy end/failure. HCC hepatocellular carcinoma, ICD-10 International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, tenth revision