MD Anderson researchers reported that tumor‑infiltrating bacteria, notably Fusobacterium nucleatum, can induce quiescence in cancer epithelial cells, enabling immune evasion and chemotherapy resistance in colorectal and oral cancers. The study used spatial analysis in patient samples and preclinical models to map bacterial localization and its association with suppressed transcriptional activity and treatment failure. Separately, a Cell study from Leonard Zon’s group described discrete surface domains on melanoma cells — termed CRATERs — where CD8+ T cells cluster and effect tumor killing. The authors showed that immunotherapy expands these engagement pockets and that CRATER presence correlated with apoptotic markers in treated tumors. Taken together, the papers highlight spatial tumor microenvironment features — microbial niches and specialized cell‑surface domains — that modulate immune engagement and therapeutic response, suggesting new biomarker or targeting opportunities.