Toxicity of oxidized phosphatidylcholines in cultured human melanoma cells

•Short-chain oxidized phospholipids induce cell death in melanoma cells isolated from different stages of tumor progression.•Primary human melanocytes are affected to a much lesser extent.•Lipid toxicity is associated with more efficient lipid uptake in the tumor cells.•Oxidized phospholipids activate acid sphingomyelinase and change ceramide patterns in melanoma cells.•All these properties may be considered favorable conditions for testing oxidized phospholipids as anticancer drugs in animal models.