Melanoma Research Laboratory and Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, East Melbourne, Australia Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Life Sciences Institute, Department of Internal Medicine and Center for Stem Cell Biology, University of...

Although cancer rarely acts as an infectious disease, a recently emerged transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) is virtually 100% fatal. Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) has swept across nearly the entire species' range, resulting in localized declines exceeding 90% and an overall species decline of more than 80% in less than 20 years. Despite epidemiological models t...