Efforts to save the Tasmanian devil could change after a study showed facial tumour disease took on a more deadly form three years ago and was able to mutate.

The University of Tasmania study, published in the Proceedings B journal and conducted in the North-West, shows the disease mutated genetically six years after its first appearance.

The results showed the tumour was a changing rather than a static problem, according to lead author Rodrigo Hamede.

"We're not going to get rid of it with a magic bullet," he said.

"It's a matter of seeing this problem from a non-simplistic point of view."

The study showed researchers needed to keep focusing on the tumour's genetics, he said.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg - we need to go back and understand what the pathway is of the tumour to understand its evolution."

The study, conducted with Cambridge University, was the first to show the relationship between tumour genetics and the devil's survival, Dr Hamede said.

"That can determine whether the population will recover or sustain themselves."

The tumour had mutated in ways that helped its survival, Dr Hamede said.

Researchers studied North-West devils that had been monitored for a decade, and took blood and tumour samples every three months.

Between 2006 and 2011 the tumours took a form letting devils live longer and sustain their population.

Another strain of the disease arrived and caused a severe population decline in 2012.

The research showed there were not single, simple solutions to the disease threat in the wild and reinforced the approach programs had taken in the past decade to protect the species, according to a spokesperson for the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program.

"This includes the successful establishment and continued growth of the insurance population of Tasmanian devils which now has more than 650 animals housed in a range of facilities around Australia," he said.

"Working with partner organisations, such as the Zoo and Aquaria Association, has enabled the establishment of a genetically diverse population of animals free of the disease.

"The value of this insurance population is now being highlighted with work under way with the Menzies Institute, which will later this month trial the release of immunised animals from the insurance population back into the wild."