Devil Facial Tumour Disease was first noticed in the north-east of Tasmania in the mid-1990s but has become more prevalent in recent times in other areas of the state.
In the areas already surveyed, the disease has the most dramatic effect in those with high-density populations with up to 100% mortality of resident devils in 12-18 months. In lower density areas, population decline has been less marked. The disease appears to kill most devils once they reach adulthood, with a few juveniles affected. In the medium term, there is some population recovery but populations are made up mostly of young animals.
DFTD begins as lesions and lumps around the mouth. The lesions and lumps develop into cancerous tumours that spread from the face to the entire body. The tumours interfere with feeding, and the affected animal may starve to death.
Using cultures of the cancerous tissue to study the condition, researchers have identified the cancer as neuroendocrine in nature, and all cancer cells have identical chromosomal rearrangements. A virus was initially thought to be the cause of DFTD, but no evidence of such a virus could be detected in the cancer cells. The cancer...
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