Efficacy of local treatment of neoplastic pleural effusions may be related to the administered drugs, as judged by our series of 225 patients. The evaluation of the local improvement--which did not interfere with the evolution of the primary cancer--showed good (45.9%) or satisfactory (48.6%) results in a series of 148 patients treated with peptichemio. This local improvement was practically devoid of any adverse side-effect even when the treatment was particularly prolonged. This survey deals with 15 years of therapeutical experience concerned with neoplastic pleural effusions from malignant epithelial tumours.