The metabolism of deoxycytidine (dCyd) and dCyd nucleotides in Yoshida ascites sarcoma (YS) cells and the host rat liver was investigated with reference to the increased excretion of urinary dCyd. Incorporation of [14C]orotic acid into the livers of rats at the fifth day after the transplantation of YS cells, the time when the amount of excretion of dCyd in urine was near maximal, was 2 times higher than that into the normal rat livers. After the injection of [14C]orotic acid, the ratio of the specific radioactivity of cytidylate to uridylate moieties of the host liver RNA was measured and found to be higher than that of normal rat liver RNA and to be similar to that of YS cell RNA. When [14C]orotic acid was injected into rats followed by the transplantation of YS cells, the radioactivities present in the livers disappeared more rapidly than those in the control rat livers. The activities of pyrimidine de novo synthesis enzymes, such as cytidine triphosphate synthetase (EC 6.3.4.2) and cytidine diphosphate reductase (EC 1.17.4.1), in YS were higher than those in both rat ascites hepatoma AH 7974 and Walker 256 carcinosarcoma, the transplantations of which did not induce increased excretion of dCyd into urine of the hosts. The activities of dCyd kinase (EC 2.7.1.10) and dCyd deaminase (EC 3.5.4.5) in YS cells were lower than those in the other two tumors investigated. The activities of cytidine triphosphate synthetase and cytidine diphosphate reductase in the livers of YS-bearing rats were elevated compared with those in the livers of rat ascites hepatoma AH 7974- or Walker 256 carcinosarcoma-bearing rats and normal rats, while the activities of dCyd kinase, 5'-nucleotidase (EC 3.1.3.5), and dCyd deaminase were similar between normal rat livers and tumor-bearing rat livers. These results suggest that the increased excretion of urinary dCyd in YS-bearing rats could be caused by both the stimulation of the synthesis of dCyd nucleotides and the low activity of dCyd deaminase in YS cells as well as in the host liver.