UPDATE 1-Synta says drug worked in some melanoma patients

* Halted drug trial fails to meet goal

* Progression-free survival improves for subgroup

* 80 deaths in treatment arm as of February

* Mature survival data expected end 2009 or early 2010

(Adds details on number of deaths in the study)

ORLANDO, Fla., May 30 (Reuters) - Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp (SNTA.O), which halted trials of an experimental cancer drug in February after it was associated with a higher death rate, said on Saturday the trial showed that a subgroup of skin cancer patients benefited from the drug.

Synta said 80 patients treated with a combination of the drug, elesclomol, and chemotherapy had died as of February, compared with 53 deaths in the chemotherapy alone group.

Preliminary results of the trial found that 170 patients treated with the combination therapy saw their disease worsen, compared with 192 patients treated just with chemotherapy.

The trial enrolled 651 patients with melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. As of April, 621 patients had been evaluated.