If the inputs to the pic are fairly low speed then optos are a good option, you should never willingly take a signal from an external interface directly into a micro, it just never ends well (USB is a pain in this respect).
RS485 is an option, differential and you can get line recevers and drivers with good ESD immunity, usually requires a 5v rail however, which can be a pain in a 3.3v world, lvds does not really have the common mode range to make me happy for an off board interface over that length in an unspecified environment.
At a minimum, 10k series near the pic and a 100nf cap to ground will make things much more robust (and slower) then direct connection, but RS485 is better.
Twisted pairs are a good and happymaking thing, for 4 signals I would suggest that cat 5 FTP cable is cheap and commonplace (And it is a good match for RS485).
Regards, Dan.