Discovery of novel 1,3-diaryl pyrazolyl ester derivatives as COX-2 inhibitory candidates with anti-tumor effect

•New 1,3-diaryl pyrazolyl ester derivatives developed as COX-2 inhibitors with anti-tumor effect.•Top hit Y1–6 exhibiting selective COX-2 inhibitory and anti-proliferation activities.•Inducing both the apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase of MB-MDA-231 cells with Y1–6.•Key residues indicated by docking simulation for improving the binding patterns.