Adenoid cystic carcinoma of salivary gland origin (AdCC) is second most common salivary carcinoma characterized by frequent recurrences, perineural invasion and high long-term mortality rate. The surgical resection of the tumor in combination with adjuvant radiotherapy is the only method of choice. AdCC has been studied, altogether with immunohistochemistry, by numerous molecular-genetic techniques. Some of them, e.g. reverse-transcription PCR or fluorescent in situ hybridization contributed to the identification of translocation t(6;9)(q22-23;p23-24), which results in fusion of two transcription factors MYB-NFIB. For AdCC is this fusion unique among salivary gland carcinomas and serves as a diagnostical tool in differential diagnosis of histopathologically difficult cases. More complex methods, such as next-generation sequencing helped to detect other molecular level changes; and hence improved understanding of a development, behavior and pathogenesis of this possibly fatal malignancy. This review summarizes basic knowledge of AdCC on the genome, transcriptome and epigenetic level, which were achieved using molecular-genetic and immunohistochemical methods. Keywords: adenoid cystic carcinoma - salivary carcinoma - MYB-NFIB - FISH - aCGH - NGS.

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