About a third of women would benefit from undergoing breast screening more frequently than at present, a conference has been told.
But a second study casts doubt on the benefits of breast-screening for women over the age of 70.
Both studies were reported to the European Breast Cancer conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
Professor Gareth Evans, from Manchester University, UK, reported on a study of women attending for routine screening in his city undertaken in 2009.
This asked women about their family histories and lifestyle and also collected genetic information and checked breast density.
From more than 53,000 women, researchers found 676 with a high risk of developing cancer in the next decade and another 4,591 with a moderately increased risk.
Some 634 women developed breast cancer in the next four years.
Professor Evans found that women found to be at above average risk were about twice as likely as others to go on to develop cancer.
He told the conference: "Our results suggest that three-yearly screening is very effective for around 70% of the female population, but that those women who have a higher than average risk of developing breast cancer probably require more frequent screening, particularly as more advanced cancers were detected in these women.
"Screening should be annual for the small proportion of women who have an 8% or greater risk of developing cancer over the next ten years."
Meanwhile researchers from the Netherlands said that extending screening beyond the age of 70 would lead to over-treatment of women.
Their country has been screening women up to the age of 75 since 1998.
But surgical oncologist Dr Gerrit-Jan Liefers, of Leiden University Medical Centre, said a study of the effects found that screening failed to improve the detection of advanced cancers.
Dr Liefers said the programme had detected large numbers of tumours in their early stages.
He said: "This implies that the effect of screening in elderly women is limited and leads to a large proportion of over-diagnosis.”
He added: “Currently, the NHS Breast Cancer Screening Programme in the UK is undertaking a large randomised controlled trial in patients aged 71-73 in order to evaluate the effects of screening on breast cancer incidence and mortality.
"Until results of this trial become available, we suggest that the decision to participate in the screening programme should be personalised, for instance in discussions with primary care physicians, and be based on remaining life expectancy, the patients’ ability to function in everyday life and their preferences."
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