Comparative study of depth–dose distributions for beams of light and heavy nuclei in tissue-like media

We study the energy deposition by beams of light and heavy nuclei in tissue-like media for their possible application in charged-particle cancer therapy. The depth–dose distributions for protons, 3He, 12C, 20Ne and 58Ni nuclei are calculated within a Monte Carlo model based on the GEANT4 toolkit. These distributions are compared with each other and with available experimental data. It is demonstrated that nuclear fragmentation reactions essentially reduce the peak-to-plateau ratio of the dose profiles for deeply penetrating energetic ions heavier than 3He. On the other hand, the shapes of depth–dose profiles for all projectiles up to 58Ni were found similar at low penetration depths.