  We propose an inclusive approach for calculating characteristics of secondary
electrons produced by ions/protons in tissue-like media. This approach is based
on an analysis of the projectile's interaction with the medium on the
microscopic level. It allows us to obtain the energy spectrum and abundance of
secondary electrons as functions of the projectile kinetic energy. The physical
information obtained in this analysis is related to biological processes
responsible for the irrepearable DNA damage induced by the projectile. In
particular, we consider double strand breaks of DNA caused by secondary
electrons and free radicals, and local heating in the ion's track. The heating
may enhance the biological effectiveness of electron/free radical interactions
with the DNA and may even be considered as an independent mechanism of DNA
damage. Numerical estimates are performed for the case of carbon-ion beams. The
obtained dose-depth curves are compared with results of the MCHIT model based
on the GEANT4 toolkit.
