Jan 24 (Reuters) - Merck ( MRK ) and Eisai ( ESALF ) said

on Friday a combination of their cancer therapies failed to

extend the lives of patients with a type of esophageal cancer in

a late-stage trial.

The trial was studying Merck's ( MRK ) blockbuster immunotherapy

Keytruda and Eisai's ( ESALF ) Lenvima, in combination with chemotherapy,

as a first-line treatment for patients with a type of

gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma.

The pairing had previously failed in trials studying it for

other types of lung cancer, head and neck and skin cancer as

well.

The combination is approved in the U.S., the EU, Japan and

other countries for the treatment of a type of kidney cancer,

known as advanced renal cell carcinoma, and certain types of

advanced endometrial carcinoma - a type of uterine cancer.