VICTORY 2
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An expanded inVestigation of Inflammacheck™ to measure exhaled breath CondensaTe hydrogen perOxide in RespiratorY conditions
IRAS ID
363124
Contact name
Anoop Chauhan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 30 days
Research summary
Lung disease affects about one in five people in the UK and leads to hundreds of thousands of hospital admissions each year. Many people live with cough, breathlessness or chest discomfort for months before a clear diagnosis is made. Current tests such as spirometry, X-rays and CT scans can be uncomfortable, require hospital visits, or are used only in those at the highest risk. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the UK; when it is found early (stage I) more than half of patients are alive five years later, but this falls sharply when it is found late. We need a simple test that can be done quickly and safely to help decide who should go on for a scan.
Inflammacheck® is a small handheld device that analyses normal exhaled breath. It measures hydrogen peroxide (a marker of inflammation and oxidative stress) and other breath features such as temperature, humidity, flow and carbon dioxide. These “breath fingerprints” differ between conditions like asthma, COPD, pneumonia and lung cancer. The test is painless, takes two to five minutes of quiet breathing, and gives a result at the point of care. Two studies have already tested this approach. The original VICTORY study in Portsmouth showed that Inflammacheck® breath profiles can distinguish between common respiratory diseases. The ExPeL study in Manchester, then focused on people being investigated for lung cancer, including many with early-stage disease. Using an AI (machine-learning) analysis of the breath data, the study correctly identified lung cancer with an accuracy of over 80%. These results suggest a breath test, supported by AI, could help triage patients before CT scanning.
VICTORY 2 will refine and validate the breath test and the AI model using a larger, harmonised dataset drawn from real NHS clinics. We already have anonymised data from 316 people who took part in the earlier VICTORY and ExPeL studies. We will now add data from around 140 new participants at Portsmouth, Manchester and North MIdlands. These will include people with suspected lung cancer, early-stage confirmed lung cancer, pneumonia and healthy volunteers. Bringing the old and new datasets together will allow us to improve and “lock” the AI model so that it works reliably across different patient groups.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/SC/0392
Date of REC Opinion
13 Jan 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion