Twelve patients with advanced primary lung cancers associated with malignant pleural effusion were treated with intrathoracic instillation of recombinant interleukin-2 with or without in-vitro-sensitized cells. Two cases achieved complete response, and 7 partial response. The adverse effects seen in the protocol were marginal, and the protocol was well-tolerated and feasible. Furthermore, 4 cases were treated with the combination of systemic chemotherapy and adoptive immunotherapy. Of these, 3 cases responded well to the therapy and have shown a complete response for more than 20 months, indicating that adoptive immunotherapy together with chemotherapy might be a beneficial treatment for advanced lung cancer patients.