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Ongoing clinical trials explore T cell receptor (TCR) gene therapy as a treatment option for cancer, but responses in solid tumors are hampered by the immunosuppressive microenvironment. The production of TCR gene-engineered T cells requires full T cell activation in vitro, and it is currently unknown whether in vivo interactions with conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) regulate the accumulation and function of engineered T cells in tumors. Using the B16 melanoma model and the inducible depletion of CD11c⁺ cells in CD11c.diphtheria toxin receptor (DTR) mice, we analyzed the interaction between tumor-resident cDCs and engineered T cells expressing the melanoma-specific TRP-2 TCR. We found that depletion of CD11c⁺ cells triggered the recruitment of cross-presenting cDC1 into the tumor and enhanced the accumulation of TCR-engineered T cells. We show that the recruited tumor cDCs present melanoma …