A study of the energy deposition profile of proton beams in materials of hadron therapeutic interest

► The energy loss per unit path length by protons in liquid water, PMMA and polystyrene is calculated. ► We use a realistic description of the target excitation spectrum. ► Depth-dose curves of proton beams in these materials are obtained by using the simulation code SEICS. ► We obtain how the dose broadens radially as the depth increases. ► SEICS includes the main interaction phenomena between the projectile and the target constituents.