GENEVA (AP) — Powered by demand for its cancer drugs, Swiss drugmaker Roche on Tuesday reported a 7 percent increase in sales of its pharmaceutical products for the first nine months of 2012.

The world’s biggest producer of cancer-fighting drugs said its pharmaceutical division’s sales over the three quarters rose to 26.2 billion Swiss francs ($28.08 billion), from 24.4 billion francs in the same time period last year.