German researchers have grown a mini-breast in Petri dish — a biomedical first that could provide a new tool for cancer research.

The work, led by Dr. Christina Scheel of the German Research Center for Environmental Health, involved growing cultured human breast cells in a laboratory process designed to simulate the growth of mammary glands during puberty.

"This technological breakthrough provides the basis for many research projects, both those aimed to understand how breast cancer cells acquire aggressive traits, as well as to elucidate how adult stem cells function in normal regeneration," said Scheel.

Co-researcher Lisa Meixner said the work will help cancer researchers better understand and alter the molecular-level processes that lead the development and spread of cancer and help provide “the basis for developing therapeutic strategies to inhibit them in breast cancer."