Most people had never heard of the BRCA gene until 2013, when the actress Angelina Jolie announced she had had a preventative mastectomy.

Jolie, who lost her mother to ovarian cancer, revealed she had taken the decision to have both breasts removed after discovering she had a mutation to the BRCA1 gene.

Normal versions of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes repair damaged DNA, which helps prevent tumours. But about one in 300 people carry a mutated version, which significantly increases the risk of breast and ovarian cancer in women and prostate cancer in men.

Men with faulty BRCA1 genes are three times as likely, and men with BRCA2 mutations are twice as likely, to have aggressive prostate cancers.

• Male ‘Jolie gene’ can triple aggressive prostate cancer risk

Only this group of men have been recommended for a new targeted screening strategy by the National Screening Committee (NSC).

Up to 30,000 men aged 45 to 61 have a BRCA mutation and will be eligible for testing every two years, according to Prostate Cancer UK.

The problem is that most don’t yet know they have the mutation. Most men only become aware of BRCA mutations if a female relative diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer has her DNA tested.

NHS genetic testing is fairly limited: the health service has launched a BRCA testing programme for people with Jewish ancestry, who are six times more likely to carry faults in BRCA genes. People with a strong family history of cancer, particularly if relatives were diagnosed at a young age, can ask their GP for genetic testing, which involves a simple saliva swab to test DNA.

Professor Sir Mike Richards, chair of the NSC, acknowledged the committee’s decision would lead to “more people being tested for BRCA”, as men become more aware of the risk.

Women diagnosed with breast or ovarian should “communicate to their male relatives” if they had tested positive for BRCA, he said.

But some experts raised concerns that GPs would be inundated with demands for testing. If people have a BRCA variant, there is a 1 in 2 chance that their children will inherit it.

• Millions expected to miss out on prostate cancer screening

Ben Lamb, a consultant surgeon at Barts Health and UCLH NHS Trusts, said: “Screening of men with BRCA genes is good news, but these are a small minority of men diagnosed with prostate cancer, plus the majority of men do not know whether or not they carry BRCA genes.

“This decision may drive a surge in BRCA testing from the educated, worried and affluent well which will not help those men most in need.”

Professor Ros Eeles, who has pioneered research into BRCA genes at Institute of Cancer Research in London, also questioned the committee’s decision to only offer testing every two years.

She said there should be annual testing “to avoid the risk that an aggressive cancer could be allowed to grow unchecked for a whole year”.

The success of a new NHS screening programme for men with BRCA mutations will also be limited unless genetic testing is expanded, Eeles said.

“Today’s recommendation is indeed a vital step toward reducing deaths from prostate cancer. However, unless BRCA testing is expanded, there are thousands of men who will miss out on this screening programme. The NHS needs to offer BRCA testing to more men, starting by offering testing to male relatives of BRCA carriers.”