  Heavy ions have varying effects on the target. The most important factor in
comparing this effect is Linear Energy Transfer (LET). Protons and carbons are
heavy ions with high LET. Since these ions lose energy through collisions as
they move through the tissue, their range is not long. This loss of energy
increases along the way, and the maximum energy loss is reached at the end of
the range. This whole process is represented by the Bragg curve. The input dose
of the Bragg curve, full width at half maximum (FWHM) value, Bragg peak
amplitude and position, and Penumbra thickness are important factors in
determining which particle is advantageous in tumor treatment. While heavy ions
move through the tissue, small deviations occur in their direction of travel
due to Coulomb collisions. These small deviations cause lateral straggle in the
dose profile. Lateral straggle is important in determining the type and energy
of the particle used in tumor treatments close to critical organs. In our
study, when the water phantom of protons and carbon beams with different
energies is taken into consideration, the input dose, FWHM value, peak
amplitude and position, penumbra thickness and lateral straggle are calculated
using the TRIM code and the results are compared with Monte Carlo (MC)
simulation. It was found that the proton has an average of 63% more FWHM and
53% more Penumbra than the carbon ion. The carbon ion has an average of 28-45
times greater Bragg peak amplitude at the same Bragg peak location than the
proton. It was observed that the proton scattered approximately 70% more in
lateral straggle. The difference was found to be around 1.32 mm. In line with
all these results, the most commonly used proton and carbon heavy ions in
hadron therapy applications were compared.
